MEX3A: A promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma

doi:10.4251/wjgo.v17.i10.106692

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Oct 15, 2025 (publication date) through Oct 26, 2025

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World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology

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1948-5204

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Letter to the Editor

World J Gastrointest Oncol. Oct 15, 2025; 17(10): 106692
Published online Oct 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i10.106692

MEX3A: A promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma

Xin-Le Yang, Xiao-Jun Yang

Xin-Le Yang, The First Clinical Medical School, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China

Xiao-Jun Yang, Department of General Surgery, Gansu Provincial People’s Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China

Author contributions: Yang XL contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript; Yang XJ contributed to manuscript review; and all of the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report 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: Xiao-Jun Yang, Professor, Department of General Surgery, Gansu Provincial People’s Hospital, No. 199 Donggang West Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China. yangxjmd@aliyun.com

Received: March 5, 2025
Revised: April 4, 2025
Accepted: April 21, 2025
Published online: October 15, 2025
Processing time: 223 Days and 16.1 Hours

Abstract

This article discusses the recently published study by Ji et al on the role of MEX3A in hepatocellular carcinoma. The study reveals MEX3A’s role, but has issues including a small sample size and unclear RORA-regulation. We propose new research directions. It is essential to analyze the immune cells in MEX3A-high tumors and test the impact of MEX3A-knockout on immunotherapy when exploring the relationship between MEX3A and the immune microenvironment. With regard to MEX3A and cancer stem cells, it is necessary to assess the effect of MEX3A on cancer stem cell self-renewal and use organoids to test the targeting ability of MEX3A-inhibitors. In addition, improvements such as larger-scale validation and in-depth mechanism research are required, which could boost hepatocellular carcinoma understanding and patient prognosis.

Keywords: MEX3A; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Immune microenvironment; Cancer stem cells; Immunotherapy; Organoids

Core Tip: The study by Ji et al explored MEX3A’s role in hepatocellular carcinoma, and showed its potential as a marker and target. However, the study has limitations such as a small sample size. New directions include studying its relationship with the immune microenvironment and cancer stem cells, such as analyzing the composition of immune cells and detecting the effect of knockdown of MEX3A on immunotherapy. Addressing these issues may improve hepatocellular carcinoma prognosis.