Human “mini-liver” stem cell culture systems: from mechanisms behind liver cancer origin and recurrence to new therapeutic treatments

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most lethal and prevalent cancers in the human population. But at present, there are no good in vitro models for HCC. Thus, there is only an elemental understanding of the molecular, cellular and environmental mechanisms that drive HCC pathogenesis and there are only limited therapeutic options. In this project, our aim is to establish and characterize physiologically relevant 3D-liver cancer stem cell models and use them to increase our understanding of the mechanisms behind liver cancer with the final goal to develop anti-cancer strategies.