Sunday, April 15, 2012

Austrian scientists announce major discovery in liver cancer


Austrian scientists at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research have found that overproduction of a growth hormone can cause liver cancer, it was announced on Friday.

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the third most common cause of tumor-associated deaths. So far, viral infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and excessive alcohol consumption are considered the main culprits for liver cancer.

The scientists showed that the overproduction of growth hormone, led by hormonal or metabolic disorders, greatly accelerated the development of tumor diseases and caused liver cancer. However, they added the growth hormone is very difficult to detect.

The aim of their studies was to understand the mechanism of a signaling molecule, known as STAT 5, in the development of liver cancer due to the overproduction of growth hormone.

Experiments on mice were able to show that this signaling pathway protects the liver in a healthy condition and can regulate metabolic processes essentially.

The overproduction of the growth hormone can also lead to kidney diseases and organ failure, said the report.

No comments: