New Insights into Cancer Gene Therapy: Researchers Identify Potential Therapeutic Candidates for Liver Cancer

Researchers from the Faculty of Science have made a breakthrough in cancer gene therapy, identifying 10 potential therapeutic candidates for liver cancer. According to the study, liver cancer is a significant health concern worldwide, particularly in developing countries, where it poses a substantial financial burden. The research aimed to uncover key genomic features, analyze their functional roles, and propose potential therapeutic drugs using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from liver cancer studies.

Key Takeaways:

• The study focused on liver cancer, a common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, particularly in developing countries.
• The researchers used two advanced hybrid methods and four top-performing individual methods to analyze four scRNA-seq datasets, leading to the identification of essential differentially expressed genes (DEGs).
• Through a protein-protein-interaction (PPI) network, the researchers identified 25 hub-of-hub genes (hHubGs) and 20 additional hHubGs from two naturally occurring gene clusters, validating a total of 36 hHubGs.
• Functional, pathway, and survival analyses revealed that these hHubGs are strongly linked to liver cancer.
• The researchers proposed 10 potential therapeutic candidates, including Adozelesin, Tivozanib, NVP-BHG712, Nilotinib, Entrectinib, Irinotecan, Ponatinib, and YM201636.
• The study provides critical insights into the genomic landscape of liver cancer and identifies promising therapeutic candidates, serving as a valuable resource for advancing liver cancer research and treatment strategies.

Statistics:

• Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
• The study analyzed four scRNA-seq datasets.
• The researchers identified 25 hub-of-hub genes (hHubGs) and 20 additional hHubGs, validating 36 hHubGs in total.
• The 10 proposed therapeutic candidates were selected from a pool of 300 cancer meta-drugs.
• The study provides a valuable resource for advancing liver cancer research and treatment strategies.

Sources:

• Biology, 2025, 14(4):431.
• Faculty of Science Researchers Provide New Insights into Cancer Gene Therapy (Discovery of Genomic Targets and Therapeutic Candidates for Liver Cancer Using Single-Cell RNA Sequencing and Molecular Docking).
• Cancer Weekly, May 13, 2025; p 15.