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.

Cancer-causing potential of fetal exposure to carcinogens can vary substantially

The cancer-causing potential of fetal exposure to carcinogens can vary substantially, a recent study suggests, causing different types of problems much later in life depending on the stage of pregnancy when the fetus is exposed.

16 Dec 2011

Liver transplantations for NASH-Cirrhosis increase dramatically

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs when fat builds up in the liver. This accumulation of fat damages the liver and leads to cirrhosis. NASH is rapidly increasing in the U.S. mainly related to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

15 Dec 2011

Study describes miR-124 can prevent and treat liver cancer

Cancer of the liver - rare in the United States but the third-leading cause of cancer death worldwide - can result from environmental exposures or infections like chronic hepatitis, but the link is poorly understood.

12 Dec 2011

Alios BioPharma, Vertex initiate ALS-2200 and ALS-2158 clinical study in HCV

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Alios BioPharma, Inc. today announced the initiation of two clinical studies for the nucleotide analogues ALS-2200 and ALS-2158, which are inhibitors of the hepatitis C NS5B polymerase.

12 Dec 2011

First study to identify molecular mechanism that links inflammation to cancer epigenetics

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists report that sharp rises in levels of reactive oxygen molecules, and the inflammation that results, trigger biochemical changes that silence genes in a pattern often seen in cancer cells. The researchers confirmed this gene-silencing effect in mice that develop inflammation-induced colon cancer.

8 Dec 2011

Mainz gastroenterologist awarded ERC Advanced Grant

The European Research Council (ERC) has earmarked about €2.5 mio. to fund the research being conducted by gastroenterologist and biochemist Professor Dr. Dr. Detlef Schuppan at Mainz University Medical Center.

3 Dec 2011

Baby boomers more likely to develop HCV

Experts at Montefiore Medical Center urge the general public to be tested for the Hepatitis C virus, especially baby boomers, adults born between 1946-1964, who could be most at risk for this disease. Baby boomers are more likely to have been exposed to dangerous risk factors decades ago, such as sharing a drug needle, being tattooed or pierced with unsterilized tools or receiving a tainted blood transfusion.

2 Dec 2011

Two studies uncover limitations in screening for hepatocellular carcinoma

Two studies available in the December issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, have uncovered limitations in screening for primary liver cancer, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma.

2 Dec 2011

EGCG may prevent HCV reinfection after liver transplantation

German researchers have determined that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)—a flavonoid found in green tea—inhibits the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from entering liver cells.

1 Dec 2011

New 'triggered imaging' enables physicians to better target tumors during radiosurgery

A new type of "triggered imaging" technology enables University of Alabama at Birmingham physicians to better target tumors during radiosurgery and lessens the risk of injury to surrounding lung tissue.

22 Nov 2011

Mirna reports new preclinical data of miRNA-based therapeutic candidate for hepatocellular carcinoma

Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering microRNA replacement therapy for cancer, announced the presentation today of new preclinical data on the development of a miRNA-based therapeutic candidate for primary liver cancer at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in San Francisco, CA.

16 Nov 2011

Molecular level insights into connection between cancer and diabetes

Developing type 2 diabetes is a lengthy process. An early sign that it has begun is high levels of insulin in the blood. As long as the insulin-producing beta cells are able to compensate for the increased demand, for example when the individual is overweight, the blood sugar levels remain normal. It is not until the capacity for insulin secretion falls below the level needed that type 2 diabetes becomes a fact. The latter stage generally goes quickly, as the stressed beta cells work themselves to death.

16 Nov 2011

Conference highlights advances in evidence-based integrative therapies for cancer

Today the Society for Integrative Oncology highlighted top research findings presented at the Eighth International Conference this week in Cleveland, Ohio. More than 80 abstracts will be presented at the annual meeting, which will be keynoted by National Institutes of Health Director, Francis Collins, MD, PhD.

11 Nov 2011

New studies could fundamentally change medical treatment of liver cancer

Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have played a major role in two studies that could fundamentally change the medical treatment of liver cancer. Doctors are now able to determine the degree of aggressiveness of the tumour in the early stages and can thus devise an individualised treatment plan.

10 Nov 2011

Encouraging interim results from daclatasvir Phase IIb study in genotype 1 and 4 HCV patients

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced interim results from a Phase IIb clinical trial (COMMAND-1) of 395 treatment-naïve, genotype 1 and 4 hepatitis C infected patients in which two doses of the investigational NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir (BMS-790052), in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin (alfa/RBV), achieved higher virologic response rates through Week 12 than the alfa/RBV control group, with comparable rates of adverse events.

9 Nov 2011

States trying to wrangle Medicaid costs; rural hospitals struggling; health hiring steady

In Michigan, the plan to replace state nursing assistants at the veterans home resulted in a lawsuit contending that some temporary workers employed by the contract company had already jeopardized patient care. ... A judge has granted a preliminary injunction that keeps the state employees at work while the lawsuit moves forward.

8 Nov 2011

Economic burden of chronic hepatitis C-related liver disease

Health care costs for hepatitis C patients with end-stage liver disease are nearly 2.5 times higher than those in the early stages, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

8 Nov 2011

Tibotec to present results of TMC435 phase 2b study on HCV at AASLD 2011

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals (Tibotec), one of the Janssen (Janssen) Pharmaceutical Companies, today will present results of the final analysis of PILLAR, a phase 2b study of the investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3/4A protease inhibitor TMC435 in treatment-naïve patients with chronic genotype 1 HCV, as part of a late-breaker oral presentation at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, USA.

7 Nov 2011

Vertex announces positive interim data from INCIVEK Phase 2 combination trial on HIV, HCV

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced positive interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 study designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of INCIVEK (telaprevir) tablets in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin in people who are co-infected with chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus.