Published online May 27, 2022. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i5.956
Peer-review started: December 31, 2021
First decision: February 21, 2022
Revised: March 1, 2022
Accepted: May 7, 2022
Article in press: May 7, 2022
Published online: May 27, 2022
Core Tip: Liver cancer ranks the third cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Lack of effective treatment options and early diagnostic biomarkers results in a short survival time of HCC patients. Ubiquitination plays an essential role in the biochemical processes in cells. In this study, using bioinformatic analysis of the online TCGA database we found that three ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 2 (UBE2) genes were overexpressed in HCC samples compared to normal samples in a stage-dependent manner, including UBE2C, UBE2T, and UBE2S. Additionally, overexpression of those genes was negatively associated with prognostic outcomes and overall survival times. Patients with TP53 mutation showed a higher level of expression of three UBE2 genes, indicating an association between UBE2 expression with p53 function. This study shed light on the potential roles of UBE2C, UBE2T, and UBE2S on diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for HCC, as well as the therapeutic strategy.