ABSTRACT
The etiology of liver cancer is well known, but despite recent progress in the application
of molecular techniques for the analysis of the development of these tumors, we still
lack precise knowledge about pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Animal
models can provide essential knowledge about HCC pathogenesis, particularly if they
mimic the tissue environment in which human tumors develop. The synergism between
studies in animal models and human tumors is strengthened by using comparative genomic
analysis to identify genes and pathways that are critical for both mouse and human
oncogenesis. In this article, the authors discuss some selective examples of constitutive,
conditional, and inducible models of HCC development, and briefly describe the genetic
manipulations required for engineering these models and some new techniques used for
gene screening in HCC. The authors focus on models that best correlate with the human
disease and offer important insights into the pathogenesis of HCC.
KEYWORDS
Hepatocellular carcinoma - liver cancer - transgenic mice - knockout mice - conditional/inducible
gene expression
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Nelson FaustoM.D.
Department of Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, WA 98195
Email: nfausto@u.washington.edu
