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Liu et al. Hepatoma Res 2020;6:7 Hepatoma Research
DOI: 10.20517/2394-5079.2019.39

Review Open Access

Animal models for hepatocellular carcinoma arising
from alcoholic and metabolic liver diseases

Ken Liu 1,2,3 , Jinbiao Chen , Geoffrey W. McCaughan 1,2,3
2,3
1 A.W. Morrow Gastroenterology and Liver Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia.
2 Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia.
3 Liver Injury and Cancer Program, Centenary Institute, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia.
Correspondence to: Dr. Geoffrey W. McCaughan, MBBS PhD FRACP FAHMS, Head of Liver Injury and Cancer Program,
Centenary Research Institute, A.W. Morrow Professor of Medicine, Director A.W. Morrow Gastroenterology and Liver Centre,
Director Australian Liver Transplant Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia.
E-mail: g.mccaughan@centenary.usyd.edu.au

How to cite this article: Liu K, Chen J, McCaughan GW. Animal models for hepatocellular carcinoma arising from alcoholic and
metabolic liver diseases. Hepatoma Res 2020;6:7. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2019.39

Received: 1 Dec 2019 First Decision: 27 Jan 2020 Revised: 9 Feb 2020 Accepted: 17 Feb 2020 Published: 28 Feb 2020
Science Editor: Darrell Crawford Copy Editor: Jing-Wen Zhang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Received: First Decision: Revised: Accepted: Published:
Abstract
Science Editor: Copy Editor: Production Editor: Jing Yu
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major and increasing cause of clinical and economic burden worldwide.
Now that there are effective therapies to control or eradicate viral aetiologies, the landscape of HCC is changing
with alcoholic and metabolic liver diseases becoming major catalysts. The pathogenesis of HCC is complex and
incompletely understood, hampering improvements in therapy. Animal models are essential tools for advancing
study on the cellular and molecular processes in HCC and for screening potential novel therapies. Many models
of hepatocarcinogenesis have been established using various methods including genetic engineering, chemotoxic
agents and dietary manipulation to direct implantation of tumour cells. However, none of these can accurately
replicate all features found in human diseases. In this review, we provide an overview of different mouse models
of HCC with a particular focus on cancer arising from alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and
hereditary haemochromatosis. We also highlight their strengths and limitations and provide perspectives for future
study.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, animal models, mouse models, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcohol,
haemochromatosis

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license,
and indicate if changes were made.

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