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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2023; 29(5): 780-799
Published online Feb 7, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i5.780
Transcriptome analysis creates a new era of precision medicine for managing recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma
Chun-Cheng Chiang, Hsuan Yeh, Siew-Na Lim, Wey-Ran Lin
Chun-Cheng Chiang, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, United States
Hsuan Yeh, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
Siew-Na Lim, Department of Neurology, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Siew-Na Lim, Wey-Ran Lin, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Wey-Ran Lin, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Author contributions: Chiang CC and Yeh H contributed equally to this study, and both contributed to data collection and manuscript writing; Lim SN and Lin WR contributed to data collection and supervision.
Supported by Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, No. CORPG3L0271, No. CORPG3L0281, No. CMRPG3K2292, and No. CORPG3L0301; and Ministry of Science and Technology, No. MOST111-2314-B-182A-126.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wey-Ran Lin, MD, PhD, AGAF, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 5 Fu-Shin Street, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan. t12360@adm.cgmh.org.tw
Received: October 17, 2022
Peer-review started: October 17, 2022
First decision: November 15, 2022
Revised: November 23, 2022
Accepted: January 10, 2023
Article in press: January 10, 2023
Published online: February 7, 2023
Processing time: 111 Days and 22.5 Hours
Abstract

The high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence negatively impacts outcomes of patients treated with curative intent despite advances in surgical techniques and other locoregional liver-targeting therapies. Over the past few decades, the emergence of transcriptome analysis tools, including real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR, microarrays, and RNA sequencing, has not only largely contributed to our knowledge about the pathogenesis of recurrent HCC but also led to the development of outcome prediction models based on differentially expressed gene signatures. In recent years, the single-cell RNA sequencing technique has revolutionized our ability to study the complicated crosstalk between cancer cells and the immune environment, which may benefit further investigations on the role of different immune cells in HCC recurrence and the identification of potential therapeutic targets. In the present article, we summarized the major findings yielded with these transcriptome methods within the framework of a causal model consisting of three domains: primary cancer cells; carcinogenic stimuli; and tumor microenvironment. We provided a comprehensive review of the insights that transcriptome analyses have provided into diagnostics, surveillance, and treatment of HCC recurrence.

Keywords: Recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma; Microarrays; RNA sequencing; Single-cell RNA sequencing; Precision medicine; Tumor heterogeneity; Tumor microenvironment

Core Tip: The high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence seriously threatens patient outcomes. This review detailed how various transcriptome profiling methods have contributed to our understanding of recurrent HCC with respect to the carcinogenicity of primary cancer cells, carcinogenic stimuli, and tumor microenvironments, which show great promise in improving the management of HCC.