Abstract
The Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors (FGFRs) are known to regulate cancer metabolism in different tumor types, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Several risk factors are associated with HCC, of which viral infections (Hepatitis B and C) and cirrhosis are prominent. In Pakistan as well as in highly developed countries like the United States, hepatitis C virus HCV infections are most commonly reported in HCC. Here, we aimed to investigate the clinical relevance of FGFR receptors in HCC and their role in HCV-positive HCC cases. 264 HCC samples along with their clinical information and 96 normal liver samples were collected. qPCR was done to estimate the expression of
,
,
and
. Three independent HCV-induced HCC cohorts (containing 293 HCC samples) were used for validation. According to in vitro results,
was upregulated in HCV+ HCC patients. However, in all three independent cohorts of HCC, significant a down-regulation of
was observed.
overexpression was observed in the in vitro cohort as well as in three independent HCC cohorts. Interestingly, a strong correlation of
expression was observed between cirrhosis and HCV in all four HCC cohorts. Our study suggested that
expression can be used to classify HCC patients based on HCV infection. This
-based classification may lead to new therapeutic strategies against HCV-positive HCC subtypes.