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.

Good signal for liver tumour therapy

The linking of two signalling pathways in the cells of liver tumours has a clear influence on their malignancy. Activation of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) messenger molecule is decisive for this linking.

30 Jul 2007

Mummies provide clues to combat hepatitis B

Mummies that have recently been unearthed in South Korea may provide clues on how to combat hepatitis B, according to Prof. Mark Spigelman of the Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

26 Jul 2007

New advance in search for effective treatment for human liver cancer

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine report a significant new advance in the search for an effective treatment for human liver cancer in the July issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

12 Jul 2007

Uncooked fish linked with liver cancer in Asia

An age old preference for eating uncooked fish dishes like koi-pla puts people in SE Asia at risk of ingesting trematodes that can cause a type of liver cancer called cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts), say researchers in this week's PLoS Medicine.

10 Jul 2007

Modified herpes virus - a killer of cancer cells

Scientists have developed a virus specifically designed to target cancer tissue while not affecting normal healthy tissue.

9 Jul 2007

Why males show a higher rate of inflammation than females in the same diseases

Production of a protein that promotes inflammation appears to be linked to the higher incidence of liver cancer in men than in women, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have determined in mouse studies.

9 Jul 2007

Multiple-electrode radiofrequency ablation safe and effective way of treating patients with liver cancer

Multiple-electrode radiofrequency ablation is a safe and effective way of treating patients with liver cancer that can be completed in less time than current ablation techniques, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

29 Jun 2007

Bayer and Onyx submit supplemental NDA for Nexavar

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals have announced that a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. Nexavar is currently approved in more than 50 countries for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer.

28 Jun 2007

Radio Frequency Ablation emerges as an alternative treatment for inoperable liver cancer

Hollywood talent manager Louis Bershad, 68, whose clients include many top actors in town, recently underwent a routine MRI for kidney stones only to learn from his urologist that he also had a tumor in his left kidney.

26 Jun 2007

Drug warning prompts treatment changes for those infected with hepatitis B and HIV

Cross-resistance alarms raised earlier this year by Johns Hopkins researchers about a widely used antiviral therapy for hepatitis B liver infections have prompted swift treatment revisions by the drug's maker and governmental agencies.

23 Jun 2007

New molecular mechanism discovered that may 'spontaneously' cause liver cancer

Adding more good news to last week's announcement that Nexavar (sorafenib) may be the first effective treatment for advanced liver cancer, researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University have uncovered a new molecular mechanism that may 'spontaneously' cause liver cancer.

20 Jun 2007

New contributor to aggressive cancers

Mutations in the cell adhesion molecule known as integrin alpha 7 (integrin 7) lead to unchecked tumor cell proliferation and a significantly higher incidence in cancer spread, or metastasis, in several cancer cell lines, report researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Jun 2007

Liver cancer drug Nexavar, a major breakthrough

A trial of an experimental drug to treat advanced liver cancer has helped extend patients lives by as much as three months.

4 Jun 2007

Liver cancer patients with high serum levels of hepatitis B virus face poorer outcomes

In the June issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), researchers report their findings from the first-ever study examining the prognostic value of serum HBV DNA levels for patients with liver cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

3 Jun 2007

Peering into the body and visualizing its molecular secrets one step closer to reality

Peering into the body and visualizing its molecular secrets, once the stuff of science fiction, is one step closer to reality with a study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

22 May 2007

Decoding gene expression in cancer tumors using noninvasive imaging

By correlating images of cancerous liver tissue with gene expression patterns, a research team led by a radiologist at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine has developed tools that may some day allow physicians to view a CT image of a cancer tumor and discern its genetic activity.

22 May 2007

Cure for hepatitis C

The use of peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, points to a cure for hepatitis C, the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplant, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher said today.

22 May 2007

Hepatitis C infection is associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Hepatitis C infection is associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (malignancy involving lymphatic tissue) of 20 percent to 30 percent, and a three-fold increase in the risk of another type of lymphoma, according to a study in the May 9 issue of JAMA.

9 May 2007

Hepatitis C increases risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Researchers in the U.S. have found that an infection with the hepatitis C virus increases the risk of a person developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

8 May 2007

Moderate coffee drinking reduces many risks

Although the American Society for Nutrition's popular ,controversy session, at Experimental Biology 2007 focuses on the health effects of coffee drinking, panel chair Dr. James Coughlin, a toxicology/safety consultant at Coughlin & Associates, says that recent advances in epidemiologic and experimental knowledge have transformed many of the negative health myths about coffee drinking into validated health benefits.

1 May 2007