Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, and retains its ranking as the fourth most frequent cancer in Singapore. It has been shown that genetic changes of hepatocytes occur following exposure to various viral or chemical carcinogens, but the underlying mechanisms of the hepatocarcinogenesis are still largely unknown. The goal of our research is 1) to identify the genetic changes in human hepatocellular carcinoma, 2) to explore the functional significance of these genes, and 3) to correlate the genetic constitution of individuals' normal and tumor tissue with clinical and epidemiologic information for the evaluation of their joint significance. The ongoing research projects of our team are :
Identification of genes differentially expressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma
Molecular cloning and characterization of HepN1, a novel gene that is frequently lost in hepatocellular carcinoma
Functional exploration of a putative noncoding gene that is frequently upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma
Exploration of the role of a mitogen-inducible gene in cancer cell susceptibility to cytotoxic actions of therapeutic agents in human