Petrini E, Caviglia G P, Abate M L, Fagoonee S, Smedile A, Pellicano R
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Città della Salute e della Scienza, Molinette Hospital, Turin, Italy -
Panminerva Med. 2015 Dec;57(4):201-9. Epub 2015 Apr 21.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is still a relevant problem worldwide and many cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are related to HBV. The prognosis of HBV-related HCC is poor, particularly for advanced stage diagnosis. Although follow-up strategies were adopted for patients at risk, there is need for an optimal early biomarker for the screening purpose. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, tightly connected to cell type and differentiation status and act as genetic regulator which can be involved in oncogenic processes. The alteration in miRNA expression pattern may represent a new opportunity for HBV-related HCC diagnosis and therapies. Some studies focused on miRNA polymorphism responsible for HCC susceptibility; others found several miRNAs deregulated by HBV X protein as well as miRNAs altered in HBV-related HCC tissue and cells. A high variability among results emerged, probably due to different techniques employed, biological substrates, experimental procedures, criteria of miRNAs selection and ethnic provenience of the included patients. Interestingly, circulating miRNAs have been studied as potential HCC-biomarkers but the reported accuracy is still not convincing, particularly in distinguishing patients with HCC from patients with cirrhosis. Hence, the use of miRNAs remains in an experimental phase and more studies are required to define their role in the clinical practice.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染仍是全球范围内的一个重要问题，许多肝细胞癌（HCC）病例都与HBV有关。HBV相关HCC的预后较差，尤其是对于晚期诊断而言。尽管对高危患者采取了随访策略，但仍需要一种最佳的早期生物标志物用于筛查。微小RNA（miRNA）是小的非编码RNA，与细胞类型和分化状态紧密相关，并作为遗传调节因子参与致癌过程。miRNA表达模式的改变可能为HBV相关HCC的诊断和治疗带来新的契机。一些研究聚焦于导致HCC易感性的miRNA多态性；另一些研究发现了几种被HBV X蛋白失调的miRNA，以及在HBV相关HCC组织和细胞中发生改变 的miRNA。结果呈现出高度的变异性，这可能是由于所采用的技术、生物底物、实验程序、miRNA选择标准以及纳入患者的种族来源不同所致。有趣的是，循环miRNA已被作为潜在的HCC生物标志物进行研究，但所报道的准确性仍不令人信服，尤其是在区分HCC患者和肝硬化患者方面。因此，miRNA的应用仍处于实验阶段，需要更多研究来确定它们在临床实践中的作用。
