Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma is among the most lethal and prevalent cancers in the human population. Despite its significance, there is only an elemental understanding of the molecular, cellular and environmental mechanisms that drive disease pathogenesis, and there are only limited therapeutic options, many with negligible clinical benefit. This Review summarizes the current state of knowledge of this, the most common and dreaded liver neoplasm, and highlights the principal challenges and scientific opportunities that are relevant to controlling this accelerating global health crisis.

Author affiliations

1. Department of Genetics, Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA.
2. Department of Medical Oncology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and Departments of Medicine and Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA.
3. Present address: Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA.
4. Center for Applied Cancer Science and the Belfer Institute for Innovative Cancer Science, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA.

Correspondence to: Ronald A. DePinho^2,4 Email: ron_depinho@dfci.harvard.edu

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