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Updated: Nov 7, 2025
Methyl-binding DNA capture Sequencing for Patient Tissues
Published on: October 31, 2016
Sex and Race-Related DNA Methylation Changes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Wenrui Ye1, Stefan Siwko1, Robert Y L Tsai1
1Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Insights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) epigenetics, specifically DNA methylation, reveals disparities in men versus women and across racial/ethnic groups. Understanding these epigenetic changes is key to addressing health inequalities in liver cancer.
Area of Science:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) research
- Epigenetics and DNA methylation
- Health disparities in oncology
Background:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major global health concern, ranking sixth in incidence and fourth in cancer-related mortality.
- Despite advances, HCC incidence is rising, highlighting significant health disparities, including higher prevalence in males and certain racial/ethnic groups, often linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- Previous research predominantly focused on genetic mutations, revealing complex and heterogeneous pathways in HCC development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on DNA methylation changes in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
- To examine how these epigenetic modifications contribute to observed disparities in HCC incidence among different sexes and racial/ethnic groups.
- To establish a foundation for utilizing epigenetic approaches to mitigate health disparities in gastrointestinal malignancies.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on epigenetics, specifically DNA methylation patterns in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
- Analysis of studies reporting sex-based and race/ethnicity-based differences in HCC-related DNA methylation.
- Synthesis of findings to connect epigenetic modifications with health disparities in HCC.
Main Results:
- DNA methylation patterns in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibit variations between sexes and across different racial/ethnic populations.
- These epigenetic alterations are implicated in the differential susceptibility and prevalence of HCC.
- The review highlights the role of epigenetics in understanding and potentially resolving HCC health disparities.
Conclusions:
- Epigenetic modifications, particularly DNA methylation, play a significant role in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression.
- Addressing sex and race/ethnicity-specific epigenetic changes is crucial for reducing health disparities in HCC.
- Epigenetic strategies offer a promising avenue for future interventions to improve equitable outcomes in gastrointestinal cancers.
Abstract:
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The number of HCC cases continues to rise despite advances in screening and therapeutic inventions. More importantly, HCC poses two major health disparity issues. First, HCC occurs more commonly in men than women. Second, with the global increase in non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD), it has also become evident that HCC is more prevalent in some races and/or ethnic groups compared to others, depending on its predisposing etiology. Most studies on HCC in the past have been focused on genetic factors as the driving force for HCC development, and the results revealed that genetic mutations associated with HCC are often heterogeneous and involve multiple pathogenic pathways. An emerging new research field is epigenetics, in which gene expression is modified without altering DNA sequences. In this article, we focus on reviewing current knowledge on HCC-related DNA methylation changes that show disparities among different sexes or different racial/ethnic groups, in an effort to establish a point of departure for resolving the broader issue of health disparities in gastrointestinal malignancies using cutting-edge epigenetic approaches.
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