Exposure, formation, and various available treatments to combat hepatocellular carcinoma: A comprehensive review

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver tumor that develops from chronically damaged tissue that contains large amounts of inflammation and fibrosis, which also promote tumor progression and resistance to therapy. It is the most common cancer with high mortality (>60,000) in low resourced countries, which covers over 5% of the deaths and the sixth most widespread cause of cancer death among cirrhosis patients across the globe. There has been a widespread notion that synthetic agents are the cause of most cancers. There are many other hereditary and environmental factors, which alter the behavior and aggressiveness of HCC, particularly at early stages of disease. This remains a significant public health challenge and is assumed to affect over 1 million people every year by 2025. The present situation reflects that HCC is steadily increasing in developed countries due to poor prognosis. Newer treatments are needed with several being in development, either in pre-clinical or clinical studies. Over the past decade, herbal medicines have been accepted globally as prominent therapeutic agents for prevention and treatment of cancer. This review summarizes several aspects of environmental chemical carcinogenesis and their treatments by using diverse natural bioactive compounds of medicinal plants.