Saturday, September 23, 2023
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Biology

Crunching the data: New liver cancer subtypes revealed immunologically

February 1, 2019
in Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

IMAGE

Credit: Department of Molecular Oncology,TMDU


A research team based at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) has used an integrated data analysis to classify hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer, into three distinct subgroups, which should aid targeted treatment

Tokyo, Japan – Liver cancer remains a major problem in healthcare globally, being the second most common cause of cancer-related death globally. Previous studies showed that this disease, especially its predominant form hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), exhibits substantial heterogeneity. However, efforts to categorize HCC more precisely have been limited by an inability to integrate data from various sources into a single classification system.

A Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)-centered research group has made a major advance in this field by combining data on mutations, gene expression patterns, and immunological status to shed light on the variation among cases of HCC. The study, recently reported in the journal EBioMedicine, reveals that there are actually three distinct types of this disease, which should help in predicting the prognosis of individual patients and treating them more effectively (Fig 1).

The team first extracted a range of data on 183 removed HCC tumor specimens and then used statistical analysis to see if they clustered together into specific groups with distinct features. They then tested whether their findings were supported by an additional analysis of data from 373 HCC patients, and also incorporated data on each patient’s characteristics such as their clinical course and overall outcome.

“We knew that we’d have to take a large number of different variables into account in order to establish clinically useful stratification of HCC,” corresponding author Shinji Tanaka says. He adds, “our combination of genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic data and immune system characterization provided new insights into this disease.”

Among the three types of HCC revealed by the observations, one included tumors with mutation in the CTNNB1 gene along with a suppressed immune system (Fig 2). Another featured tumors in those with metabolic disease, associated with conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, rather than having an association with hepatitis virus infection as typically found in other cases. Finally, in the third group, the tumors showed mitogenic features and chromosomal instability, and a worse patient prognosis (Fig 3).

“If we can use this new classification to group HCC patients according to their subtype, it should help us provide the specific treatment that’s best for them,” lead author Shu Shimada of TMDU says. “Our finding of a metabolic disease-related subtype is also particularly important given the rate at which diseases such as obesity and diabetes are becoming more and more prevalent.”

The article “Comprehensive molecular and immunological characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma” is published in EBioMedicine at doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.12.058.

###

Media Contact
Shinji TANAKA
tanaka.monc@tmd.ac.jp

Original Source

http://www.tmd.ac.jp/english/press-release/20190131_1/index.html

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.12.058

Tags: BioinformaticsBiologyGeneticsImmunology/Allergies/AsthmaInternal MedicineLiverMolecular Biology
Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • blank

    Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

    1036 shares
    Share 414 Tweet 259
  • New findings on hair loss in men

    67 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • Fruit flies offer clues to how brains make reward-based decisions

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • The potential of solar cars in the world

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Wildlife mitigating measures no help for Ottawa’s freshwater turtles

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • ISSCR Kicks off São Paulo International Symposium today in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

Corning® launches Videodrop, revolutionizing real-time nanoparticle detection and analysis

Grant awarded to University of Louisville law professor will fund climate adaptation project

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 208 other subscribers

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In