Journal
WORLD JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY
Volume 20, Issue 20, Pages 6252-6261Publisher
BAISHIDENG PUBLISHING GROUP INC
DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i20.6252
Keywords
Hepatitis B virus; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Gender disparity; Sex hormones
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Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81372552, 81172349/H1617]
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Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most common causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a malignant tumor with high mortality worldwide. One remarkable clinical feature of HBV-related HCC is that its incidence is higher in males and postmenopausal females compared to other females. Increasing evidence indicates that HBV-associated HCC may involve gender disparity and that it may be a type of hormone-responsive malignant tumor. Sex hormones, such as androgen and estrogen, have been shown to play very different roles in the progression of an HBV infection and in the development of HBV-related HCC. Through binding to their specific cellular receptors and affecting the corresponding signaling pathways, sex hormones can regulate the transactivation of HBx, cause the chronic release of inflammatory cytokines in the hepatocellular microenvironment, and participate in epigenetic and genetic alternations in hepatocytes. All of these functions may be related to the initiation and progression of HBV-associated HCC. A thorough investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the gender-related disparity in HBV-related HCC should provide a new perspective for better understanding its pathogenesis and exploring more effective methods for the prevention and treatment of this disease. (C) 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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