The p53 family in hepatocellular carcinoma

HCC is the sixth most common cancer globally and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide with a steadily increasing annual incidence of about 900,000 cases per year (1). HCC is the deadly complication of chronic liver disease and usually develops within liver cirrhosis related to different etiologies. In Asia and Africa hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, with or without aflatoxin B1 exposure, is the most frequent etiology, whereas hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, chronic alcohol abuse and metabolic syndrome are most frequently related to HCC in Western countries (1-4).