Oncogenic Wnt3a: a promising specific biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still one of the most common and rapidly fatal malignancies worldwide with a multi-factorial, multi-step, complex process, and poor prognosis. Early discovery and effective therapy of HCC are of utmost importance. Recent studies demonstrated that Wnt/β-catenin pathway play important roles in occurrence and development of HCC including hepatocytes malignant transformation, metastasis, chemoresistance and liver cancer stem cells. Oncogenic wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 3a (Wnt3a) signaling is a promising biomarker in diagnosis and prognosis for HCC. This review presents current data on mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis involving participation of the Wnt canonical pathway, and focuses on the Wnt3a expression in HCC progression and its clinical application