ReviewCancers2021
The TGF-β Pathway: A Pharmacological Target in Hepatocellular Carcinoma?
Review in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Targeted Therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment: A New Era Ahead-A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of nano-curcumin supplementation on liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD-associated fibrosis: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Engineered protein nanoclusters reduce liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in mice models.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Nur77 agonism invigorates Natural Killer cell immunity against hepatocellular carcinoma.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Review
- Anti-Angiogenic Features of Endostatin in Obesity, Liver Fibrosis, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- HBV reprograms the tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2026Review
- T Cell Exhaustion in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Substantial Barrier in Immunotherapy.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Novel Insights into TSC22D Family Genes in Metabolic Diseases and Cancer.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Cholesterol metabolic rewiring shapes immune remodeling across hepatocarcinogenesis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Integrative multi-omics profiling identifies infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma as an immunotherapy-resistant subtype with distinct molecular features.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Article
- Synergistic effects of sorafenib and cilostazol in HepG2 cells.Journal of biosciences · 2026Article
- Targeting TGF-β signaling in glioblastoma: therapeutic implications and novel drug development strategies.Brain tumor pathology · 2025Review
- New Experimental Mouse Models to Evaluate the Role of Transforming Growth Factor-Beta in Liver Tumorigenesis.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2025Article
- Targeted Therapies Modulating Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition-Linked Oncogenic Signaling in the Tumor Microenvironment: Comparative Profiling of Capmatinib, Bemcentinib, and Galunisertib.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Combination immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma: synergies among immune checkpoints, TKIs, and chemotherapy.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2025Review
- Escape from TGF-β-induced senescence promotes aggressive hallmarks in epithelial hepatocellular carcinoma cells.Molecular oncology · 2025Article
- The Inhibitory Effects of Anti-GPC3 Antibody on Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway as a Biological Therapy in Liver Cancer.Molecular biotechnology · 2025Article
- NADPH oxidase 1/4 dual inhibition impairs transforming growth factor-beta protumorigenic effects in cholangiocarcinoma cancer-associated fibroblasts.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2025Article
- Immunological Landscape and Molecular Therapeutic Targets of the Tumor Microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily members are essential for tissue homeostasis and consequently, dysregulation of their signaling pathways contributes to the development of human diseases. In the liver, TGF-β signaling participates in all the stages of disease progression from initial liver injury to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). During liver carcinogenesis, TGF-β plays a dual role on the malignant cell, behaving as a suppressor factor at early stages, but contributing to later tumor progression once cells escape from its cytostatic effects. Moreover, TGF-β can modulate the response of the cells forming the tumor microenvironment that may also contribute to HCC progression, and drive immune evasion of cancer cells. Thus, targeting the TGF-β pathway may constitute an effective therapeutic option for HCC treatment. However, it is crucial to identify biomarkers that allow to predict the response of the tumors and appropriately select the patients that could benefit from TGF-β inhibitory therapies. Here we review the functions of TGF-β on HCC malignant and tumor microenvironment cells, and the current strategies targeting TGF-β signaling for cancer therapy. We also summarize the clinical impact of TGF-β inhibitors in HCC patients and provide a perspective on its future use alone or in combinatorial strategies for HCC treatment.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.