Cancer Associated Fibroblasts and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cancer Associated Fibroblasts and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) ranks the fifth most common cancer worldwide, and high recurrent rate and metastasis are the major hurdles for effective therapies of this disease. Recently, increasing evidence shows that Cancer-associated Fibroblasts (CAFs), one of the most abundant cell types inside the tumor stroma, plays a prominent role in progression of various cancer types. Since most of the HCC cases are developed with cirrhosis background in which activated myofibroblast is enriched, the role of CAFs in HCC progression is currently being investigated.