Association of the GLB1 rs4678680 genetic variant with risk of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Dissecting the effect of sphingolipid metabolism gene in progression and microenvironment of osteosarcoma to develop a prognostic signature

Sphingolipid metabolism (SM) fuels tumorigenesis and the malignant progression of osteosarcoma (OS), which leads to an unfavorable prognosis. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying SM in osteosarcoma and developing a SM-based prognostic signature could be beneficial in the clinical setting. This study included 88 frozen OS samples to recognize the vital SM-relevant genes in the development of OS utilizing univariate Cox regression. The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis was conducted on the SM- relevant genes to minimize the risk of overfitting. The prognostic signature was generate utilizing the multivariable Cox regression analysis and was verified in the validation cohort. Moreover, cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with SM have an unfavorable prognosis for OS patients and have been widely studied. Resultantly, an SM-based prognostic risk model was established according to critical prognostic genes (CBS, GLB1, and HACD1), which had an excellent ability to predict the prognosis of OS patients (AUC for the train cohort was 0.887 and AUC for validation cohort was 0.737). The high-risk OS patients identified based on this prognostic signature had significantly poor immune microenvironment, indicated by significantly low immune score (mean=216.290 ± 662.463), reduced infiltrations of 25 immune cells, including NK cells (LogFC= -0.3597), CD8+T cells ((LogFC=-0.2346), Cytolytic activity ((LogFC=-0.1998), etc. The immunosuppressive microenvironment could be due to dysregulated SM of glycolipids. Further, a nomogram was constructed by integrating the SM-based prognostic signature and clinical paraments to facilitate clinical application. The nomogram could accurately predict the prognosis of OS invalids. Collectively, this study clarified the function of SM in the development of OS and helped develop a tool for risk stratification based on SM-related genes with application in clinical settings. The results of our study will aid in identifying high-risk patients and provide individualized treatments.

Hepatocellular carcinoma: epidemiology, screening, and assessment of hepatic reserve

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. This review summarizes the epidemiology and causes of the disease, and the roles of screening and surveillance for early tumour detection. It also highlights the important role of assessment of hepatic reserve in consideration of appropriate staging and treatment.

Genetic variation in FCER1A predicts peginterferon alfa-2a-induced hepatitis B surface antigen clearance in East Asian patients with chronic hepatitis B

In a multicentre, genome-wide association study to identify host genetic factors associated with treatment response in adult chronic hepatitis B patients, genotype data were obtained by microarray analysis from 1669 patients who received peginterferon alfa-2a for ≥ 24 weeks with/without a nucleos(t)ide analog. Treatment response was assessed at least 24 weeks post-treatment, using serological and/or virological endpoints. Thirty-six single-marker analyses and a gene-by-gene analysis were conducted. No single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) achieved genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10^-8 ) in single-marker analyses, but suggestive associations (P < 1 × 10^-5 ) were identified for 116 SNPs. In gene-by-gene analyses, one gene, FCER1A (rs7549785), reached genome-wide significance (P = 2.65 × 10^-8 ) in East Asian patients for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance, with a moderate effect size (odds ratio = 4.74). Eleven of 44 carriers (25%) of the A allele at rs7549785 achieved HBsAg clearance compared with 69/1051 (7%) noncarriers. FCER1A encodes the alpha subunit of the immunoglobulin E receptor. In a post hoc analysis of a homogenous patient subset, the strongest intragenic association was for rs7712322 (POLR3G, P = 7.21 × 10^-7 ). POLR3G encodes the G subunit of the polymerase (RNA) III enzyme, involved in sensing and limiting infection by intracellular bacteria and DNA viruses, and as a DNA sensor in innate immune responses. FCER1A (rs7549785) and possibly POLR3G (rs7712322) are shown to be associated with peginterferon alfa-2a response in adult patients with chronic hepatitis B. Independent confirmation of these findings is warranted (clinicaltrials.gov number NCT01855997).

Rs2303428 of MSH2 Is Associated with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prognosis in a Chinese Population

The defects of DNA repair genes may lead to genomic instability and cancer. As an important DNA mismatch repair gene that maintains genomic stability from DNA replication errors, genetic variants of mutS homolog 2 (MSH2) are associated with some cancers. In this study, 1021 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases and 1021 non-HCC controls from Guangxi were included to explore the association between MSH2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and HCC. Among the eight MSH2 SNPs, only genotype distribution of rs2303428 was significantly different from HCC and non-HCC patients (p < 0.05). Moreover, CT, TT, and CT/TT genotype of rs2303428 could increase HCC risk [OR (95% CI) = 1.758 (1.195-2.657), 1.846 (1.213-2.896), and 1.823 (1.219-2.763), respectively] and decrease the survival time of HCC patients [codominant, HR (95% CI) = 1.267 (1.046-1.535); dominant, HR (95% CI) = 1.675 (1.162-2.414)]. In addition, rs2303428 was found to interact with HBV infection and family history to increase HCC risk by gene-environment analysis (p < 0.05). Finally, multivariate COX regression analysis showed that rs2303428, tumor number, tumor staging, and metastasis had a significant influence on HCC prognosis. Our results provide MSH2 SNP, rs2303428, as a new prognostic biomarker for HCC patients.

Viral hepatitis and liver cancer

Hepatitis B and C viruses are a global health problem causing acute and chronic infections that can lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These infections are the leading cause for HCC worldwide and are associated with significant mortality, accounting for more than 1.3 million deaths per year. Owing to its high incidence and resistance to treatment, liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with HCC representing approximately 90% of all primary liver cancer cases. The majority of viral-associated HCC cases develop in subjects with liver cirrhosis; however, hepatitis B virus infection can promote HCC development without prior end-stage liver disease. Thus, understanding the role of hepatitis B and C viral infections in HCC development is essential for the future design of treatments and therapies for this cancer. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on hepatitis B and C virus hepatocarcinogenesis and highlight direct and indirect risk factors.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Human oncogenic viruses’.

Whole-exome analysis of a Li-Fraumeni family trio with a novel TP53 PRD mutation and anticipation profile

Li-Fraumeni syndrome is a clinically heterogeneous familial cancer predisposition syndrome with autosomal-dominant inheritance caused by heterozygous germline mutations in the TP53 gene. We here analyze the genetic background of a family with a 4-year-proband presented with a Li-Fraumeni tumor. The mother developed breast cancer at age 37 and the proband died at age 8. We performed Sanger sequencing and whole-exome sequencing on peripheral blood DNA from proband and relatives. Data analysis selected only high-quality score and depth reads, rare variants and protein impact involving missense, non-sense, frameshift and splice disrupt mutations. Disease implicated variants and predicted deleterious alterations were also chosen. TP53 genetic testing revealed a never reported TP53 deletion arose as de novo mutation in the mother and inherited by the proband. We then performed whole-exome analysis of the trio to uncover inherited variants from the father that potentially worsen the already altered genetic background in the proband. No pathogenic variants were inherited in autosomal recessive, de novo dominant or X-linked recessive manner. Comparing proband and father exome we detected 25 predicted deleterious variants including a nonsense mutation in ERCC3. Those inherited mutations are possible candidate modifiers linked to TP53, explaining the proband accelerated tumor onset compared to the mother and providing a possible explanation of the genetic anticipation event in this Li-Fraumeni family.