Specific features of hepatocellular carcinoma

While more than half the world's cases of hepatocellular carcinoma are found in China, the genomic links between this cancer and the hepatitis B virus remain poorly studied in this country. Researchers here have launched a project to create a Chinese atlas of hepatic cancer, by sequencing the entire genome of 494 hepatocellular tumors. This has enabled them to characterize the evolutionary history of hepatocellular carcinoma in the Chinese population. Using in vivo and in vitro tests, the researchers demonstrated the role of fibrinogen alpha chain in regulating hepatocellular carcinoma progression and metastasis. These characteristics could have important clinical implications.