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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a long-term medical name for the most common form of liver cancer, a malignant tumor whose incidence has nearly doubled over the last decade, making it the type of cancer that is experiencing the fastest growth in the United States and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
In an article published on April 5 in the scientific journal Cancers, researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a subsidiary of City of Hope, provide the first summary of experimental evidence supporting the AKR1B10 enzyme as a promising therapeutic target for HCC, starting from the review of more than 50 studies published since. this gene was identified and characterized for the first time in 1998.
"Although the badociation between this gene and HCC is well recognized, in this review, we see AKR1B10 emerging not only as a therapeutic target for this type of liver cancer, but also as a potential use. for the early diagnosis of this deadly disease, "said Dr. Johanna DiStefano, head of TGen's Diabetes and Fibrous Diseases Unit.
It is important to note that AKR1B10 plays a seemingly conflicting role in the development and progression of HCC. Overexpression of this gene is a clear indicator that a patient might have a CHC, but the removal of this gene can also be seen as a way to curb the progression and spread of cancer, said Dr. DiStefano, a professor. at TGen and senior of the newspaper. author.
Like many types of digestive cancers, HCC has few symptoms in its infancy and is usually not diagnosed until its late stages, when there are fewer treatment options and chances are there. survival of the patient decreases.
In the United States, the number of liver cancer diagnoses has nearly doubled, from about 22,000 in 2009 to about 42,000 this year. Men are almost twice as likely to contract this disease as women.
This year, nearly 32,000 patients will die of liver cancer, making it the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, closely following bad and pancreatic cancers. Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world, according to the summary document: Diagnostic and Prognostic Potential of AKR1B10 in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
HCC is the most common cause of death in patients with cirrhosis of the liver, which is badociated with over-consumption of alcohol, viral infections and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
While AKR1B10 has become a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC, studies have shown that this enzyme also plays a role in the development and progression of HCC, the paper says. AKR1B10 appears to affect CHC resistance to currently available chemotherapies, making it more difficult to treat. At the same time, the TGen document shows that a higher expression of this gene is paradoxically badociated with better long-term results, higher survival rates, and a lower incidence of metastatic spread in patients. Other parts of the body. The overall results suggest that AKR1B10 can perform different functions at different stages of HCC.
"The identification of biomarkers for different stages of HCC is essential to improve early detection of the disease and enable early implementation of chemotherapy and surgical removal of the tumor to prevent cancer progression." and its spread to other organs, "said Dr. Bethany Davis, a postdoctoral fellow. member of Dr. DiStefano's laboratory and also author of the journal.
The molecular mechanisms underlying HCC and the role played by AKR1B10 in this disease, however, remain poorly understood, Dr. DiStefano said.
"Nevertheless, our badysis shows that AKR1B10 could be exploited for early cancer prevention," she said. "And the value of this gene in therapies and clinical management of specific subtypes of HCC clearly deserves further investigation."
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