Integrative Pipeline to Identify Potential Long Non Coding RNA-Associated Competing Endogenous RNA and Its Implication in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Abstract

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) represents the fifth most common cancer in the world and the second most frequent cause of mortality among oncological patients. It is responsible for 500,000 deaths globally every year. It represents the most common primary malignant tumor of the liver, Its incidence is increasing because of hepatitis B and C virus infections. Egypt has the highest prevalence of HCV in the world with 13.8% of the population infected and seven million with chronic HCV liver disease. Up to 90% of HCC cases in the Egyptian population were attributed to HCV. Early detection of HCC opens doors for various effective treatments such as surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation, and transplantation, which can subsequently lead to long-term survivals in a great number of HCC patients. Early detection is possible with ultrasound scanning and AFP monitoring, although the use of AFP as a screening test is complicated by frequent false positive and false negative results. In addition, AFP serum concentrations do not correlate well with the prognostic parameters of HCC such as tumor size, stage, or disease progression. Ethnic variability may also exist. Furthermotare, in some cases of HCC, AFP elevations are not apparent at all. Besides, serum AFP levels are frequently not elevated at a significant proportion in patients with early-stage potentially curable HCC. Therefore, other markers should be