Heterogenic TGF-β response in HCC cell lines displays the divergent in vivo HCC phenotype

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogenic cancer type with symptoms occurring very late in disease progression. Due to this, it is still challenging to develop efficient therapies. Therefore, HCC represents one of the most common and deadliest cancers worldwide. TGF-β is a driver of chronic liver disease progression, which eventually ends in HCC. TGF-β, a tumor suppressor in cancer development, exerts tumor promoting characteristics during cancer progression. Together with the strong heterogeneity of HCC this leads to a complex situation in regard of TGF-β signaling in liver tumorigenesis. To identify poss…