Treatments including liver transplantation against hepatocellular carcinoma based on tumor characteristics

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K10425
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: General surgery
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Umeshita Koji 大阪大学, 医学系研究科, 教授 (60252649)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 肝細胞癌 / 癌幹細胞 / 肝移植 / ABO不適合移植

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) were reported to be involved in resistance to chemo/radiation therapy. We previously reported that CD13 was both a marker of CSCs and a candidate therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We explored the antitumor effect of a combined therapy, where ubenimex, a CD13 inhibitor, was combined with conventional anticancer drugs. In HCC cell lines, while the expression of CD13 increased after an exposure to each anticancer drug alone, the CD13 expression decreased with ubenimex administration. Next, we focused on c-Met, another CSC marker and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). We investigated clinical impact of TACE on c-Met expression. The results showed that c-Met upregulation was observed significantly more frequently in clinical samples of HCC that were treated with preoperative TACE than in samples with no TACE treatment. These results would be useful in treatments against HCC based on tumor characteristics.

Free Research Field

肝胆膵・移植外科

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究により、癌幹細胞を標的とする治療は肝癌の治療として論理的に効率的なものであり、実際に有効である可能性が確認された．この結果は，移植後の肝癌再発予防につながる可能性を示唆するものであり、非常に意義深いものでと考えられた。