Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The HCC diagnosis is usually achieved by biomarkers, which can also help in prognosis prediction. Furthermore, it might represent certain therapeutic interventions through some combinations of biomarkers. Here, we review on our current understanding of HCC biomarkers.

Inflammatory stimuli clearly contribute to lung cancer development and progression, but the underlying pathogenic mechanisms are not fully understood. We found that the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1b is dramatically elevated in the serum of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In vitro studies showed that IL-1b promoted the proliferation and migration of NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, IL-1b acted through the COX2-HIF1a pathway to repress the expression of microRNA-101 (miR-101), a microRNA with an established role in tumor suppression. Lin28B was identified as critical effector target of miR-101 with its repression of Lin28B, a critical aspect of tumor suppression. Overall, IL-1b upregulated Lin28B by downregulating miR-101. Interestingly, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition by aspirin or celecoxib abrogated IL-1b-mediated repression of miR-101 and IL-1b-mediated activation of Lin28B along with their stimulatory effects on NSCLC cell proliferation and migration. Together, our findings defined an IL-1b-miR-101-Lin28B pathway as a novel regulatory axis of pathogenic inflammatory signaling in NSCLC. Cancer Res; 74(17); 4720-30. Ó2014 AACR.