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.

Britain should adopt universal hepatitis B immunisation

The United Kingdom is one of the few developed countries that have not implemented universal immunisation. Because the burden of hepatitis B was low and individual rights were considered paramount, a policy of selective immunisation of high-risk groups, such as health care workers, homosexual men, and drug addicts, has been followed.

5 Nov 2004

Health professionals fall short for Hepatitis C patients

People living with Hepatitis C are highly critical of the treatment they have received from health professionals, particularly doctors, according to a new study by a University of Auckland sociology researcher.

3 Nov 2004

Program triples hepatitis B vaccination rates in targeted regions of rural China

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and the China Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control (CFHPC) announced the results of a collaborative grassroots education and vaccination program designed to fight the spread of one of China's most pressing health problems -- hepatitis B.

1 Nov 2004

New approaches for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Data from two ongoing studies testing new approaches for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) this afternoon.

1 Nov 2004

Strong-flavored onions could potentially be great for fighting cancer

Researchers at Cornell University have found, in preliminary lab studies, that members of the onion family with the strongest flavor — particularly New York Bold, Western Yellow and shallots — are the best varieties for inhibiting the growth of liver and colon cancer cells.

21 Oct 2004

Tiny beads called microspheres could become the new weapon in the fight against liver cancer

The new treatment involves injecting thousands of the beads via an incision into the hepatic artery - the main blood supply for the liver. When the microspheres are injected they are picked up by the blood flow and eventually lodge in the malignant cells of the tumours.

19 Oct 2004

Energy blocker can eradicate large liver tumors

Building on their earlier work, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that an apparently nontoxic cellular "energy blocker" can eradicate large liver tumors grown in rats. Six months to more than a year after treatment was stopped, the rats are still cancer free.

18 Oct 2004

People with diabetes mellitus have three to four times the risk of developing liver cancer

People with diabetes mellitus have three to four times the risk of developing liver cancer, and more than twice the risk of developing pancreatic cancer than non-diabetic individuals, according to research presented at the Third Annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Meeting in Seattle.

18 Oct 2004

New research suggests that cancer cells can be reformed

New research by Dean Felsher, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (oncology) and of pathology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, suggests that cancer cells can be reformed.

12 Oct 2004

Studies reveal complex molecular choreography with implications for human health and disease

As interactions of cellular proteins increasingly take center stage in basic biomedical research, studies are revealing a complex molecular choreography with implications for human health and disease.

10 Oct 2004

Best way to protect yourself from digestive cancers is by eating right, not taking a pill

“The bottom line is to forget the antioxidant supplement and eat lots of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables,” said William Hart, Ph.D., R.D., associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University. “Limit meat, high fat milk products and all other sources of fat.”

8 Oct 2004

Vitamin supplements not effective in protecting against gastro-intestinal cancer

A systematic review and meta-analysis (pooled analysis) of previously published randomised trials in this week’s issue of THE LANCET provides strong evidence that antioxidant supplements (such as vitamin supplements) are not effective in protecting against gastro-intestinal cancer.

30 Sep 2004

Liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver and other diseases related to hepatitis B infection will continue to increase

Liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver and other diseases related to hepatitis B infection will continue to kill people in the prime of life and burden health systems with chronically sick people unless childhood immunization against hepatitis B is stepped up

20 Sep 2004

Liver cancer genes cluster into two subsets that correlate to survival

An analysis of the gene expression patterns of 91 unrelated liver tumors revealed two distinctive subclasses highly associated with patient survival, according to a new study published in the September 2004 issue of Hepatology.

14 Sep 2004

Researchers have identified multiple changes in the gene-expression patterns of cells involved with tumor progression in liver cancer patients

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified multiple changes in the gene-expression patterns of cells involved with tumor progression in liver cancer patients and in those with cirrhosis, which may help scientists predict a person’s risk of developing primary liver cancer.

25 Aug 2004

Surprise finding could lead to hepatitis C vaccine

New research from the University of New South Wales shows some people may repeatedly be able to clear hepatitis C virus from their bodies, without any biological traces of the potentially serious infection.

23 Aug 2004

Significant advance in the understanding of the hepatitis C virus (HCV)

Researchers have made a significant advance in the understanding of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by identifying new genetic factors associated with clearing the virus spontaneously without the necessity for additional treatment.

9 Aug 2004

Metabasis Therapeutics announces multi-center Phase 2 study to evaluate the orally administered antiviral compound remofovir mesylate

Metabasis Therapeutics has announced the initiation of a multi-center, multi- national Phase 2 study to evaluate the orally administered antiviral compound remofovir mesylate in chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infected patients.

3 Aug 2004

Researchers have secured more than $19.4 million for their work on cardiovascular and liver diseases and HIV/AIDS

Sydney University medical researchers have secured more than $19.4 million for their work on cardiovascular and liver diseases and HIV/AIDS in the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council program grants.

2 Aug 2004

New drug combination more effective than the previous generation of hepatitis C/HIV therapy

A new study reveals the highest efficacy rates ever reported among patients co-infected with hepatitis C and HIV treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

28 Jul 2004