Liver Cancer News and Research

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Liver cancer is more common in older people. Over half of people newly diagnosed with liver cancer are age 65 and over. Liver cancer is more common in men than in women. Liver cancer rates are highest among Asians and Pacific Islanders, most likely because of higher prevalence of viral Hepatitis infection. Liver cancer rates are lower among whites than Blacks or Asians and Pacific Islanders. At this time, we do not know exactly what causes cancer of the liver. There are several different types of liver cancer. The most common type is associated with long-term excessive alcoholic beverage use, scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), and Hepatitis B virus or Hepatitis C virus infection. Long-term use of anabolic steroids can also increase the risk of getting liver cancer. Smoking is also believed to increase the risk of getting liver cancer.

New studies on cancer prevention presented at 101st AACR Annual Meeting 2010

Interest in cancer prevention is increasing as scientists continue to learn new information and confirm what was already suspected.

22 Apr 2010

COX-2 expression not an adequate independent prognostic factor: Research

Cyclooxygenase-2 represents a key modulatory molecule in inflammation and carcinogenesis. COX-2 is known to have multiple tumorigenic effects. Increased expression of COX-2 has been observed in a variety of tumors including pancreatic cancer.

22 Apr 2010

Study helps understand molecular mechanism underlying taurine's protection against hepatic fibrosis

Hepatic fibrosis (HF) occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases and approximately 25%-40% of HF cases may ultimately progress to hepatic cirrhosis. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) contribute significantly to the occurrence of HF and the activation of HSC is the key issue in the pathogenesis of HF. Taurine is a kind of important anti-injury substance in the body.

21 Apr 2010

Researchers demonstrate role of HSP-90 in portal hypertension

Neural vasoregulation represents a rapid and potent mode of altering vascular tone but has not been investigated thoroughly during portal hypertension. Heat shock protein-90 is well-known to act as a molecular chaperone optimizing endothelial and neural NO-synthase enzyme activity and thus, NO production.

21 Apr 2010

miRNAs may generate new insights on cancer and possible future treatments

Scientists are methodically unlocking the biological processes that lead to cancer, and recent discoveries with microRNAs (miRNAs) are revolutionizing their understanding and leading to clinical trials of potentially effective treatments.

21 Apr 2010

Diagnosis of gastric adenomyoma remains a challenging issue

Gastric adenomyoma (AM) is a rare, benign tumor, characteristically composed of glands and cysts, lined by columnar, flattened epithelia and a prominent smooth muscle stroma. Patients with gastric AM may be asymptomatic, or present as nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms.

21 Apr 2010

New research indicates patients may develop anemia after gastric bypass surgery

Morbid obesity is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in Western countries. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) has become a common procedure for achieving short- and long-term weight loss. It has gained great popularity among surgeons and patients in recent years. Long

21 Apr 2010

Celsion's ThermoDox Phase I trial data presented at 9th IHPBA World Congress

Celsion Corporation today announced that Dr. Thanjavur S. Ravikumar, from the Geisinger Health System and a principal investigator of the Phase I ThermoDox® dose escalation trial, gave an oral presentation at the Liver Tumors Panel session of the 9th World Congress of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

21 Apr 2010

AngioDynamics commences treatment in NanoKnife IRE System pilot study for HCC

AngioDynamics today announced the first patient treatment and growing enrollment in a pilot study of the use of the Company's NanoKnife® Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) System in the treatment of early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer. This clinical trial is being conducted under the supervision of Professor Jordi Bruix of the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Group of the University of Barcelona and Professor Riccardo Lencioni of the University of Pisa School of Medicine.

20 Apr 2010

Temporary occlusion of portal vein may help avoid I/R-related complications in liver surgery

Liver surgery has become a safe procedure in the past years and is mainly done because of malignant tumors. A common strategy to reduce blood loss during surgery is to temporarily shut down the blood supply to the liver [pringle maneuver], which, however may be associated with severe hepatocellular injury and consequent enhanced morbidity.

20 Apr 2010

Researchers evaluate probiotics' curative effects for treating ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic recurrent disease, which mainly consists of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and whose causes are as yet unclear. Many clinical and research studies have indicated that intestinal flora dysbacteriosis contributes to the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. Probiotics are non-pathogenic beneficial flora, which have important effects on maintaining the balance of intestinal flora.

20 Apr 2010

Severe and necrotizing AP characterized by depletion of circulating lymphocytes

Mortality of patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) approaches 30%-40%. An imbalance between the early systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and the later compensatory counter-inflammatory response, and development of multiple organ failure (MOF) are considered to be the primary causes of morbidity and mortality in SAP. Excessive leukocyte activation (including neutrophils and monocyte-macrophage lineage) with cytokinemia play a critical role in the pathogenesis of pancreatitis and even more so, of the subsequent inflammatory response.

20 Apr 2010

S1P5 may serve as future strategy in biotherapy for esophageal cancer: Study

Esophageal cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Its mortality is very high due to relatively late diagnosis and inefficient treatment. The ability to reverse the outcome of esophageal cancer is limited due to a poor understanding of its biology. Progression of esophageal cancer may be associated with sphingosine 1-phosphate and its receptors S1P1-5, which play an important role in other cancers.

20 Apr 2010

Low-dose aspirin associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding

Low-dose aspirin (LDA) is one of the main agents used for the prevention of thromboembolic vascular events, and has the advantages of both low cost and a prolonged duration of antiplatelet action; however, it is associated with a doubling of the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, even at doses as low as 75 mg daily. The gender differences in the clinical manifestations of LDA-associated gastroduodenal mucosal injury have not been well studied.

20 Apr 2010

First case of treating cystic fibrosis and Crohn's disease with infliximab

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common life-threatening autosomal recessive disease in Caucasian children; it has an incidence of 1 case in every 2500 children born alive. CF involves an anomalous function of the exocrine glands, caused by a mutation of a gene (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, CFTR) located on chromosome 7, which codes for a protein involved in ion transport through the cell membrane.

20 Apr 2010

Prognosis for IPMN depends on presence of extra-pancreatic cancer: Research

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas shows a wide spectrum of histological presentations, ranging from adenoma with mild atypia to adenocarcinoma. In general, branch duct IPMN develops slowly and has a comparatively good prognosis. However, in several studies, it became evident that IPMN is a disease that very frequently coexists with cancer.

20 Apr 2010

IGF-IR plays role in proliferation and motility of pancreatic cancer cell lines: Research

Insulin-like growth factor-I is upregulated in human pancreatic cancer tissues but is not expressed in surrounding non-cancerous tissues. Serum level of IGF-I is elevated in pancreatic cancer patients. Histological analysis has shown that IGF-I receptor is positive in the membrane of pancreatic cancer tissues.

20 Apr 2010

LSF gene plays important role in development and progression of HCC: VCU researchers

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified a new tumor-promoting gene that may play a key role in the development of liver cancer. Levels of the gene's expression are significantly higher in more than 90 percent of patients with the disease compared to their healthy counterparts.

20 Apr 2010

Jennerex presents positive interim data from Phase 2 clinical trial of JX-594 for HCC at 45th EASL

Jennerex, Inc., a clinical-stage cancer biotherapeutics company, today announced the presentation of positive interim data from its randomized Phase 2 clinical trial using JX-594 for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Vienna, Austria.

19 Apr 2010

Study evaluates therapeutic effects of FXR and TGR5 agonist in PSC

Results of a study presented today at the International Liver Congress 2010 demonstrate that a dual FXR and TGR5 agonist decreases liver damage and modulates hepatic inflammation and fibrosis in a mouse model of primary sclerosing chlolangitis. In contrast, selective FXR or TGR5 agonists have no beneficial effect.

19 Apr 2010