Progress in Liver Cancer Associated to Autoimmune Liver Disease

Autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs) are a group of liver diseases caused by abnormal autoimmune responses of the body, mainly including three main types: autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) [1]. Although the three diseases differ in their clinical manifestations and pathological mechanism, their common feature is the abnormal attack of the immune system on the liver tissue, resulting in impaired liver function. Primary liver cancer is considered the sixth most commonly diagnosed type of cancer worldwide, and it is also the third leading cause of death. The disease mainly includes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma (ICC) and other special types of liver cancer [2, 3]. There is a correlation between autoimmune liver disease and liver cancer, which has attracted wide attention from the medical community in recent years. Previous studies have reported that patients with AILDs will have a 3.6 times increased risk of developing cancer, while the risk of death from cancer will increase by 2.48 times. In addition to hepatobiliary cancer, several studies have further revealed that AILDs may also be complicated by colorectal cancer, hematological malignancies, pancreatic cancer, and skin cancer [4]. Therefore, this article will review the epidemiology, pathogenesis, risk factors, treatment prognosis and preventive surveillance of liver cancer associated with autoimmune liver disease.