Elsevier

Journal of Hepatology

Volume 56, Issue 3, March 2012, Pages 704-713
Journal of Hepatology

Review
Obesity, inflammation, and liver cancer

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2011.09.020Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Obesity has become a universal and major public health problem with increasing prevalence in both adults and children in the 21st century, even in developing countries. Extensive epidemiological studies reveal a strong link between obesity and development and progression of various types of cancers. The connection between obesity and liver cancer is particularly strong and obesity often results in liver diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the more severe non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH is characterized by fatty liver inflammation and is believed to cause fibrosis and cirrhosis. The latter is a known liver cancer risk factor. In fact due to its much higher prevalence obesity may be a more substantial contributor to overall hepatocellular carcinoma burden than infection with hepatitis viruses. Here we review and discuss recent advances in elucidation of cellular and molecular alterations and signaling pathways associated with obesity and liver inflammation and their contribution to hepatocarcinogenesis.

Keywords

Obesity
Inflammation
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocarcinogenesis

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