Aflatoxin B1-DNA adducts modify the effects of post-operative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization - Improving hepatocellular carcinoma prognosis

Sep 24, 2026

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DNA damage is implicated in carcinogenesis and may be a therapeutic target, but whether aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-DNA adducts (ADAs) influence outcomes after post-operative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (po-TACE) in hepatocellular carcinoma remains unclear. A retrospective hospital-based study analyzed 318 Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)-C stage HCC patients from high AFB1 exposure areas, quantifying ADA levels in tumor tissues by competitive ELISA.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages13

Reading Time33 min

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Abstract

Aim

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Hepatocellular carcinoma and TACE

Aflatoxin B1 and DNA damage

Exploration of Targeted Anti-tumor Therapy Open Access Original Article Aflatoxin B1-DNA adducts modify the effects of post-operative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization improving hepatocellular carcinoma prognosis Liyan Huang1,2†, Qinqin Long1†, Qunying Su1 , Xiaoying Zhu1 , Xidai Long1* 1Clinicopathological Diagnosis & Research Centre, The Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China 2Departement of Pathology, Graduate School of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China †These authors contributed equally to this work. *Correspondence: Xidai Long, Clinicopathological Diagnosis & Research Centre, The Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, No. 18, Zhongshan Er Road, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. [sjtulongxd@ymun.edu.cn](sjtulongxd@ymun.edu.cn) Academic Editor: Wei-Lin Jin, The First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, China Received: May 13, 2023 Accepted: July 10, 2023 Published: August 31, 2023 Cite this article: Huang L, Long Q, Su Q, Zhu X, Long X. Aflatoxin B1-DNA adducts modify the effects of post-operative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization improving hepatocellular carcinoma prognosis. Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:780–92. [https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00167](https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00167) Abstract Aim: DNA damage involves in the carcinogenesis of some cancer and may act as a target for therapeutic intervention of cancers. However, it is unclear whether aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-DNA adducts (ADAs), an important kind of DNA damage caused by AFB1, affect the efficiency of post-operative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (po-TACE) treatment improving hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) survival. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective study, including 318 patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)-C stage HCC from high AFB1 exposure areas, to investigate the potential effects of ADAs in the tissues with HCC on po-TACE treatment. The amount of ADAs in the cancerous tissues was tested by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) . Results: Among these patients with HCC, the average amount of ADAs was 3.00 µmol/mol ± 1.51 µmol/mol DNA in their tissues with cancer. For these patients, increasing amount of ADAs was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) and tumor reoccurrence-free survival (RFS), with corresponding death risk (DR) of 3.69 (2.78–4.91) and tumor recurrence risk (TRR) of 2.95 (2.24–3.88) . The po-TACE therapy can efficiently improve their prognosis [DR = 0.59 (0.46–0.76), TRR = 0.63 (0.49–0.82)] . Interestingly, this improving role was more noticeable among these patients with high ADAs [DR = 0.36 (0.24–0.53), TRR = 0.40 (0.28–0.59)], but not among those with low ADAs (P > 0.05) . Conclusions: These results suggest that increasing ADAs in the cancerous tissues may be beneficial for poTACE in ameliorating the survival of patients with HCC. © The Author(s) 2023. This is an Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)), which permits unrestricted use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:780–92 | [https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00167](https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00167) Page 780 Keywords Aflatoxin B1-DNA adduct, DNA damage, hepatocellular carcinoma, post-operative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization, prognosis Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common

FAQs

What question does the study address about AFB1-DNA adducts and po-TACE?

It evaluates whether aflatoxin B1-DNA adduct levels in tumor tissues affect the efficacy of post-operative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization in improving hepatocellular carcinoma survival.

How was ADA level measured in the patients included in the study?

ADA amounts in cancerous tissues were tested using competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA).

What was the overall finding regarding the relationship between ADA levels and prognosis?

Higher ADA amounts were significantly associated with poorer overall survival and tumor recurrence-free survival, while po-TACE improved prognosis more noticeably in patients with high ADAs than in those with low ADAs.

Sep 24, 2026

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