Pathogenesis and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma at the Cellular and Molecular Levels

Different approaches predict the outcome for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HOC). The expression of biliary-hepatic progenitor cell markers generally correlates with poor prognosis. This article focuses on the pathogenesis of HOC, how differentiation or dedifferentiation leads to a phenotype switch, and heterogeneity in the same tumor. A tumor cell decides its fate based on a complex interplay of signaling pathways. Interaction with the microenvironment decides whether it will invade, proliferate, or enter survival mode. Several signaling pathways contribute to stemness features, reflecting a small chemoresistant subpopulation of the tumor that expresses biliary-hepatic progenitor cell markers.