Molecular profiling of hepatocellular carcinomas by cDNA microarray

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. Conventional diagnosis and treatment of this malignancy have been dismal and should be complemented by novel tools. The development and progress of HCC are believed to be caused by the accumulation of genetic changes resulting in altered expression of thousands of cancer-related genes, which can be measured by globe genetic analysis. Gene expression profiling of HCC has been employed to elucidate hepatocarcinogenesis and disclose molecular mechanisms underlying complex clinical features. Identifying phenotype-associated genes/profiles has impacts on current diagnosis and management strategy of HCC. In spite of some pitfalls of this technology and challenges in improving the research process, scrutinous validation of profiling data of HCC combined with other approaches will eventually benefit the patients. (C) 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.