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Review
. 2021 Jun 17;13(12):3026.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13123026.

MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathway in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hyuk Moon  1 , Simon Weonsang Ro  1
Affiliations
Review

MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathway in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hyuk Moon et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health concern worldwide, and its incidence is increasing steadily. Recently, the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in HCC has gained renewed attention from basic and clinical researchers. The MAPK/ERK signaling pathway is activated in more than 50% of human HCC cases; however, activating mutations in RAS and RAF genes are rarely found in HCC, which are major genetic events leading to the activation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in other cancers. This suggests that there is an alternative mechanism behind the activation of the signaling pathway in HCC. Here, we will review recent advances in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the activation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway and discuss potential therapeutic strategies targeting the signaling pathway in the context of HCC.

Keywords: MAPK/ERK signaling; animal models; hepatocellular carcinoma; targeted therapies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The frequency of mutations in the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in HCC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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