Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and develops predominately in individuals with liver cirrhosis. HCC represents the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
Unlike most malignancies, the major risk factors for HCC development are well-defined. These risk factors are chronic HCV and HBV infections, liver cirrhosis, heavy alcohol intake, tobacco smoking, exposure to environmental and dietary carcinogens (i.e., aflatoxin B1), genetic and metabolic liver disease (i.e., hereditary hemochromatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis), and other conditions capable of inducing liver damage. Moreover, the prevalence of HCC increases with age and male sex.
In addition to environmental factors, recent insights into the biology of HCC have demonstrated that accumulations of genetic and epigenetic abnormalities can also play an essential role in liver carcinogenesis.
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) was first isolated in 1962. It stimulates proliferation, differentiation and tumorigenesis of epidermal and epithelial tissues by binding to its receptor (EGFR) and, hence, activating several signal pathways. EGF is a mitogen for adult and fetal hepatocytes grown in culture, and its expression is up-regulated during liver regeneration.