Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Emerging Burden

Abstract

Liver is the largest solid organ in the body that performs over 100 functions. It removes the toxins and waste products from the blood stream, maintains healthy blood sugar levels, regulates blood clotting; synthesize essential body proteins and other vital functions. The liver has a big impact on lipid metabolism. Depending on the species, the liver is essentially the hub of fatty acid synthesis and lipid circulation through lipoprotein formation. The buildup of lipid droplets inside the hepatocytes ultimately results in hepatic steatosis, which can be brought on by a variety of dysfunctions, including alterations in -oxidation, very low density lipoprotein secretion, and pathways involved in the generation of fatty acids. Increased blood levels of non-esterified fatty acids could possibly be a major factor in the development of fatty liver disease. In many developed countries, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is quickly becoming the main cause of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which poses significant difficulties for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of HCC. In this review, an overview is presented of the most recent research on the epidemiology, etiology of liver cirrhosis, risk factors, and prognosis of NAFLD-HCC patients. There is a significant need to emphasize the need for NAFLD-associated HCC prevention and offer some insight into the unresolved barriers and difficulties surrounding patient surveillance strategies.