Professors Bae Ugyun and Bang Hyunjin of Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital Selected for "People Who Brighten Korea"

(From left) Bae Ugyun, Professor Bang Hyunjin. Provided by Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital

Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital announced on the 12th that Professor Bae Ugyun and Professor Bang Hyunjin of the Department of Oncology have been selected for the Biological Research Information Center (BRIC) platform "People Who Brighten Korea (Hanbitsa)."

This selection is the result of their liver cancer research paper being published in the international journal Clinical and Molecular Hepatology and being recognized for its academic and clinical value.

The paper selected this time is titled "Noncanonical activation of EZH2 cooperates with FOXM1 to promote the initiation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma."

Hanbitsa is a platform that highlights research with high academic and clinical impact by selecting outstanding life science and medical science studies conducted by Korean researchers from among papers published in international journals.

The research team identified that, in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the EZH2 protein, previously known for its role in repressing gene expression, interacts with the transcription factor FOXM1 and possesses a noncanonical regulatory mechanism that promotes cancer cell division, proliferation, and metastasis. This finding demonstrates that EZH2, beyond its conventional epigenetic function, can be involved in the malignant progression of liver cancer.

This study is significant in that it comprehensively integrated transcriptome, epigenome, and single-cell transcriptome analyses based on liver cancer patient tissue owned by Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital, and further validated the potential of therapeutic strategies through animal model experiments.

The results showed that simultaneous inhibition of EZH2 and FOXM1 produced a more effective combined therapeutic effect in suppressing tumor growth and metastasis than inhibiting either target alone.

Such achievements expanded the molecular understanding of liver cancer and suggested the potential for translation into actual treatment strategies, and were thus recognized for their academic and clinical value and selected for Hanbitsa.

Professor Bae Ugyun said, "This study is meaningful in that it elucidated the molecular mechanisms of liver cancer based on patient data collected in clinical practice," adding, "It is a significant achievement in that it suggests the possibility of developing research based on patients into actual therapeutic strategies."

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