Experimental Models for Preclinical Research in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most frequent form of liver cancer, is among the top fatal malignancies worldwide. The therapeutic options for patients with advanced HCC are limited and poorly efficient. Therefore, it is critical that we identify and develop novel curative strategies in order to address this major health issue. For this, it is essential to gain mechanistic understanding of HCC pathogenesis as clues to therapeutic intervention. Over the last decades, a wide range of HCC models have been developed, aiming to achieve the goal. In particular, animal models and in vitro systems that mimic the major characteristics of the human HCC have emerged to enable functional assessment of candidate therapeutic targets in liver cancer. However, each model recapitulates limited aspects of the whole pathogenesis of the human disease. Nevertheless, combined analysis of multiple different models can collectively provide clinically relevant insights into the complex disease mechanisms. Here we summarize the major approaches of experimental modeling in HCC and their strengths and limitations.