Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common liver cancer, occurs mainly in men. Even though the causative factors for HCC are well known to be hepatitis B/C viruses, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and abuse of alcohol, our knowledge about the processes of HCC development is very little due to their complexity. By this reason, molecular -targeted drugs for HCC is currently very limited. In this review, we described that based on the recent reportssex-determining factors including Sry (sex determining region Y) and sex hormones play a crucial role in onset of male HCC and its conversion into malignant tumor via cancer stem cell (CSC). These findings may confer the useful information for development of promising chemoprevention and anti-cancer drugs against male HCC.
