Advancing the understanding of NAFLD to hepatocellular carcinoma development: From experimental models to humans.

Commentary

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has recently been recognized as an important etiology contributing to the increased incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The more aggressive form, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is characterized by hepatocyte necrosis and inflammation. The development of effective approaches for disease prevention and/or treatment heavily relies on deep understanding of the mechanisms underlying NAFLD to HCC development. This review will comprehensively describe the current in vitro and mouse models for studying NAFLD/NASH/HCC.