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Yao et al. Hepatoma Res 2018;4:30 Hepatoma Research
DOI: 10.20517/2394-5079.2018.32

Review Open Access

Oncogenic Wnt3a: a promising specific biomarker in
hepatocellular carcinoma

Min Yao 1,2,# , Miao Fang , Wen-Jie Zheng , Deng-Fu Yao 1
1
1,#
1 Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
2 Department of Immunology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
# Authors contributed equally.
Correspondence to: Prof. Deng-Fu Yao, Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong
226001, Jiangsu, China. E-mail: yaodf@ahnmc.com
How to cite this article: Yao M, Fang M, Zheng WJ, Yao DF. Oncogenic Wnt3a: a promising specific biomarker in hepatocellular
carcinoma. Hepatoma Res 2018;4:30. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2018.32
Received: 28 Mar 2018 First Decision: 22 May 2018 Revised: 11 Jun 2018 Accepted: 11 Jun 2018 Published: 6 Jul 2018

Science Editor: Guang-Wen Cao Copy Editor: Jun-Yao Li Production Editor: Cai-Hong Wang

Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still one of the most common and rapidly fatal malignancies worldwide with
a multi-factorial, multi-step, complex process, and poor prognosis. Early discovery and effective therapy of HCC
are of utmost importance. Recent studies demonstrated that Wnt/β-catenin pathway play important roles in
occurrence and development of HCC including hepatocytes malignant transformation, metastasis, chemoresistance
and liver cancer stem cells. Oncogenic wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 3a (Wnt3a) signaling
is a promising biomarker in diagnosis and prognosis for HCC. This review presents current data on mechanisms of
hepatocarcinogenesis involving participation of the Wnt canonical pathway, and focuses on the Wnt3a expression in
HCC progression and its clinical application.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Wnt/β-catenin pathway, signal molecules

INTRODUCTION
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common or deathly human malignancy cancers
worldwide , especially in the areas along the Yangtze River. Recently, Chen et al. reported the observed
[3]
[1,2]
survival and relative survival of leading cancer sites from a population-based cancer registry for 40 years.
The main sites of the cancer types with a total of 92,780 incident cases in Qidong, China, HCC ranks
the first based on the rank order of incidence among all malignancies (liver, stomach, lung, colon and
rectum, oesophagus, breast, pancreas, leukaemia, brain and central nervous system, bladder, non-Hodgkin's

© The Author(s) 2018. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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