Abstract
Ahmed A. Suleiman
The liver plays a crucial role in immune system regulation, but dysregulation of immunological
networks contributes to chronic liver diseases like hepatocellular carcinoma. This
malignant tumor is the third leading cause of cancer death. An imbalanced immune system,
characterized by alterations in immune cell count, cytokine levels, and inhibitory
receptors, can impact metastasis by suppressing the immune system's ability to fight
cancer cells. This study aims to investigate the potential biomarkers playing a crucial
role in immune dysregulation resulting in hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis. A comprehensive
and systematic literature review was conducted using both free words and search terms.
The data extraction was then performed by a thorough literature screening. Next, the
meta-analysis was performed using the metabin function of the meta library in R to
evaluate the patient cases reporting metastasis in the event group. A total of 1,008
cases were considered, with 357 as events and 651 as nonevents. The results of the
meta-analysis demonstrated the significant role of biomarkers in immune dysregulation
causing metastasis (risk ratio = 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.4972, 0.6048, I
2 = 92.4%, p < 0.01). In addition to the immune dysregulation explored in this study, the impact
of tumor size on hepatocellular carcinoma progression and metastasis is a crucial
consideration. A notable difference of 41 more cases was reported for larger tumor
sizes. The study integrates immune dysregulation biomarkers and tumor size factors
influencing hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis, offering valuable insights for future
research and therapeutic interventions for improved clinical outcomes.
Keywords
metastasis - hepatocellular carcinoma - dysregulated gene - immune response to cancer
- cancer biomarker
