Liu Wei-Cheng, Liu Quan-Yan
Wei-Cheng Liu, Quan-Yan Liu, Department of General Surgery, Research Center of Digestive Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China.
World J Gastroenterol. 2014 May 28;20(20):6252-61. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i20.6252.
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most common causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a malignant tumor with high mortality worldwide. One remarkable clinical feature of HBV-related HCC is that its incidence is higher in males and postmenopausal females compared to other females. Increasing evidence indicates that HBV-associated HCC may involve gender disparity and that it may be a type of hormone-responsive malignant tumor. Sex hormones, such as androgen and estrogen, have been shown to play very different roles in the progression of an HBV infection and in the development of HBV-related HCC. Through binding to their specific cellular receptors and affecting the corresponding signaling pathways, sex hormones can regulate the transactivation of HBx, cause the chronic release of inflammatory cytokines in the hepatocellular microenvironment, and participate in epigenetic and genetic alternations in hepatocytes. All of these functions may be related to the initiation and progression of HBV-associated HCC. A thorough investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the gender-related disparity in HBV-related HCC should provide a new perspective for better understanding its pathogenesis and exploring more effective methods for the prevention and treatment of this disease.
慢性乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染是肝细胞癌（HCC）最常见的病因之一，HCC是一种在全球范围内死亡率很高的恶性肿瘤。HBV相关HCC的一个显著临床特征是，与其他女性相比，男性和绝经后女性的发病率更高。越来越多的证据表明，HBV相关HCC可能存在性别差异，并且可能是一种激素反应性恶性肿瘤。雄激素和雌激素等性激素在HBV感染的进展以及HBV相关HCC的发生中发挥着非常不同的作用。通过与它们特定的细胞受体结合并影响相应的信号通路，性激素可以调节HBx的反式激活，导致肝细胞微环境中炎性细胞因子的慢性释放，并参与肝细胞的表观遗传和基因改变。所有这些功能可能都与HBV相关HCC的发生和进展有关。深入研究HBV相关HCC中性别相关差异的分子机制，应为更好地理解其发病机制以及探索更有效的防治方法提供新的视角。
