The Role of Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Liver resection or liver transplantation is the most effective therapy for HCC because drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with unresectable HCC have an unfavorable overall survival rate. Therefore, the development of biomarkers for early diagnosis and effective therapy strategies are still necessary to improve patient outcomes. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 19 was amplified in patients with HCC from various studies, including patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas. FGF19 plays a syngeneic function with other signaling pathways in primary liver cancer development, such as epidermal growth factor receptor, Wnt/β-catenin, the endoplasmic reticulum-related signaling pathway, STAT3/IL-6, RAS, and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase, among others. The current review presents a comprehensive description of the FGF19 signaling pathway involved in liver cancer development. The use of big data and bioinformatic analysis can provide useful clues for further studies of the FGF19 pathway in HCC, including its application as a biomarker, targeted therapy, and combination therapy strategies.