The objective of the present study was to explore the common and specific metabolic alterations of
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). Serum profiling data revealed that the two HCC groups shared a mainly similar metabolic profile, providing a basis for investigating their common
tumor pathogenesis mechanism and early diagnosis
biomarkers.
Arachidonic acid as a pro-inflammatory precursor increased significantly in the HCC group compared to the
cirrhosis and healthy control. And the
lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs) with
polyunsaturated fatty acid acyl chain with potent anti-inflammatory activity significantly decreased in the HCC and
cirrhosis groups compared to those in the healthy control group, which may partly contribute to maintaining chronic
inflammation and benefit the initiation and progression of the malignant hepatic
tumor. The decreased ratios of polyunsaturated lysoPCs to saturated lysoPCs in HCC groups compared to chronic
liver diseases infected with HBV or HCV and healthy control further demonstrated that a malignant liver
tumor exerts profound influences independent of
virus infection. Especially, serum
endocannabinoids anandamide (AEA) and
palmitylethanolamide (PEA) were found significantly elevated in HCC groups compared to healthy control, and in HCC with HCV compared to corresponding chronic
liver diseases. AEA, PEA, or their combination showed better sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve for distinguishing HCC from chronic
liver diseases, showing they are potential
biomarkers to distinguish the HCC from
cirrhosis infected with HCV.