Mingxuan Lei¹, Jiayin Xu², Xiaoying Hu², Lin Feng³, Baoping Luo^4,5,6,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.10, pp. 1947-1965, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.068926 - 22 October 2025

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) typically begins inconspicuously and progresses swiftly, leading to most patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage. Accordingly, a pressing priority is to clarify the development mechanisms of HCC and devise efficient intervention and treatment protocols. Methods: An upstream miRNA of solute carrier transporter family 1 member 5 (SLC1A5) was predicted to be miR-122-5p by various databases, and a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the SLC1A5- and miR-122-5p-targeting relationship. SLC1A5 and miR-122-5p expression in HCC cells was quantitatively assessed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR). Western blotting… More >

Oncology Research Editorial Office

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.10, pp. 3155-3155, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.073032 - 26 September 2025

Abstract This article has no abstract. More >

Mingyang Tang^1,2,#, Shengfu He^3,#, Bao Meng^1,2, Qingyue Zhang^1,2, Chengcheng Li^1,2, Yating Sun^1,2, Weijie Sun^1,2, Cui Wang⁴, Qingxiang Kong⁵, Yanyan Liu^1,2, Lifen Hu^1,2, Yufeng Gao^1,2, Qinxiu Xie^1,2, Jiabin Li^1,2,*, Ting Wu^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.10, pp. 3077-3100, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.067065 - 26 September 2025

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer-related deaths. The Nod-like receptor (NLR) family is involved in innate immunity and tumor progression, but its role in HCC remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value and biological function of NLR genes in HCC. Methods: Transcriptomic and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were analyzed using nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) to classify HCC into molecular subtypes. Differentially expressed genes were used to build an NLR-based prognostic model (NLR_score) through univariate Cox, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and multivariate Cox… More > Graphic Abstract

Jiahao Xue^1,#, Jingchang Zhang^2,#, Gang Chen³, Liucui Chen^4,*, Xinjun Lu^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.9, pp. 2309-2329, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.063719 - 28 August 2025

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive malignancy, largely driven by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) that facilitates tumor growth, immune escape, and resistance to therapy. Although immunotherapy—particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)—has transformed the therapeutic landscape by restoring T cell-mediated anti-tumor responses, their clinical benefit as monotherapy remains suboptimal. This limitation is primarily attributed to immunosuppressive components within the TME, including tumor-associated macrophages, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). To address these challenges, combination strategies have been explored, such as dual checkpoint blockade targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand More >

Bi Feng^#, Siqi Yang^#, Zhiqiang He, Yushi Dai, Ruiqi Zou, Yafei Hu, Haijie Hu^*, Fuyu Li^*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.9, pp. 2353-2377, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.061422 - 28 August 2025

Abstract Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most frequently occurring malignant tumors of the digestive tract and is associated with an increased mortality rate worldwide. This study aimed to develop and validate a prognostic model based on immunogenic cell death (ICD)-related genes to predict patient survival and guide individualized treatment strategies for HCC. Methods: ICD-related genes were identified from the GeneCards database using a relevance score threshold of >10. A combination of least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate Cox analysis was used to screen prognostic genes and construct a risk score… More >

Shuyan Kong^1,#, Danting Li^1,#, Haonan Meng^1,#, Haoxiang Zhang¹, Xiaochun Jiang¹, Peilin Zheng², Shoujun Huang^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.8, pp. 1481-1504, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.066205 - 29 August 2025

Abstract Background: Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO)-specific proteases (SENPs) cleave the isopeptidic bond between SUMO1/2/3 and protein substrates, thus regulating the structure, activity, and lifetime of a variety of proteins. Recently, accumulating evidence has suggested that SENPs play a role in the initiation and progression of human cancers. Nevertheless, the potential role of the SENP family of proteins in liver cancer has yet to be fully elucidated. Methods: This study conducted a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of the SENP family in liver cancer, including differential expression profiling, survival analysis, mutation and copy number variations (CNVs) assessment, immune infiltration… More >

Gaofeng Pan^1,2,3, Jiali Li^1,2, Weijie Sun⁴, Jiayu He^1,2, Maoying Fu³, Yufeng Gao^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.8, pp. 1991-2011, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.063993 - 18 July 2025

Abstract Aims: The aim of this study is to develop a prognostic model for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using stemness-related genes (SRGs), while also pinpointing and validating pivotal genes associated with this process. Methods: Utilizing the TCGA and ICGC database, a prognostic stemness-related scores (SRS) for HCC through a combination of WGCNA and machine learning. Bioinformatics analysis evaluated tumor immune infiltration characteristics and drug sensitivity in different SRS subgroups, identifying the key gene TOMM40L. qRT-PCR and IHC were employed to detect the expression level of TOMM40 L. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis assessed the prognostic value of TOMM40L in… More >

Yanxi Peng¹, Honggen Yuan¹, Zhanjie Jiang², Xiaoqing Ou², Qian Zhang³, Kexin Yi¹, Yanbin Meng², Qun Xie^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.7, pp. 1679-1693, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.062747 - 26 June 2025

Abstract Background: Expression of mRNA is widely regulated by N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A). An increasing number of studies have shown that m⁶A methylation, facilitated by methyltransferase 3 (METTL3), is crucial in the progression of tumors. Previous reports have indicated the involvement of both METTL3 and c-Src kinase in the evolution of liver cancer. However, the potential connection between c-Src and the METTL3-mediated mechanism in liver cancer progression remains elusive. Methods: The correlation expression between c-Src and METTL3 between liver cancer patients and the control group was analyzed using the TCGA database, and was further demonstrated by Western blot and… More >

YUYU YE, YING LIU^*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.7, pp. 1593-1610, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.061857 - 26 June 2025

Abstract Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world, with China bearing a disproportionate burden of cases. Typically diagnosed at advanced stages, liver cancer often utilizes surgical treatments such as resection, transcatheter hepatic artery chemoembolization (TACE), and radiofrequency ablation. However, advancements in genetic engineering and tumor immunology have unveiled the distinct potential of targeted oncolytic virus therapy. Oncolytic virus, in particular, can selectively destroy tumor cells without harming normal cells, offering a promising avenue for liver cancer treatment through immune system activation, tumor microenvironment modulation, and other mechanisms. This review describes the mechanism More >

DEXUE FAN^1,#, WEI SU^2,#, ZHAOWEN BI³, XINXING WANG¹, XIANWEN XU¹, MINGZE MA⁴, LICHAO ZHU⁵, ZHENHAI ZHANG^1,3,*, JUNLIN GAO^2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.6, pp. 1459-1472, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.060407 - 29 May 2025

Abstract Objectives: Apatinib has been reported to be a promising treatment for sorafenib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the underlying mechanism remains ambiguous. The study aimed to explore the efficacy of apatinib in sorafenib-resistant HCC and the underlying mechanism both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: After observing epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) changes in HepG2 and HepG2/Sorafenib cells, we treated them with varying concentrations of apatinib to assess its impact on sorafenib-resistant HCC. Subsequently, specific inhibitors of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK, SP600125) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK, PD98059) were introduced to investigate whether apatinib influenced sorafenib-resistant HCC via modulation… More >