PATHOGENESIS OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA DEVELOPMENT IN NON ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is being recognized as an increasingly important contributor to the burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. It is often accompanied by obesity and diabetes mellitus and is believed to be the hepatic representation of the metabolic syndrome. HCC development in NAFLD is multifactorial and complex. It is dependent on not only the well-described mechanisms noted in chronic liver injury, but also on the molecular derangements associated with obesity and dysmetabolism. These include adipocyte remodeling, adipokine secretion, lipotoxicity and insulin resistance. Recent advances focus on the importance of the gut-liver axis in accelerating the process of oncogenesis in NAFLD. The farnesoid X nuclear receptor (FXR) has been demonstrated to have important metabolic effects and its pharmacological activation by obeticholic acid has been recently reported to produce histological improvement in NASH. It is hoped that delineating the mechanisms of hepatic fibrosis and oncogenesis in NASH will lead to enhanced strategies for cancer prevention, surveillance and therapy in this population.