Cell: Scientists develop new blood tests that could improve screening for liver cancer

, June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- In a recent study published in the international journalCell, scientists from the National Cancer Institute of the United States have developed a new test that can help identify people who are more likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma, atype ofliver cancer that can be tested for exposure to a specific type of liver cancerPicture Source: NIH
When combined with current screening methods, this new test plays an important role in screening people at risk of HCC, helping clinicians detect and treat HCC as early as possible, a relatively simple and inexpensive new method that requires only a small number of blood samples to be tested, said researcher Xin Wei WangSpecific factors increase an individual's risk of HCC, such as hepatitis B or HCV infection, or cirrhosis, and people with risk factors are often recommended for HCC screening every 6 months, i.eusing ultrasound scans or testing of alpha-A-fetal protein in the bloodnot every individual who carries HCC risk factors develops the disease, and while screening can help individuals with early detection, many patients arediagnosis when the cancer progresses to a late stage or incurable stage, however, early-detected HCC patients often have a better chance of a cureThe researchers say we need a better way to identify those at the highest risk of carrying HCC, as well as those who should be screened frequently, and better early detection and monitoring are particularly important because of the current rising incidence of HCC in the United Statesresearcher Tim Greten says our currentliver cancerresearch program focuses on developing new ways to detect early detection,diagnosis, and improve patient outcomes in HCC patients, many screening tests that detect the many characteristics of cancer cells, but these characteristics continue to change over time,that not all cancer cells in the tumorhave the same characteristics, so the researchers used a different approach, that is, to detect cancer microenvironmentsin-depth study, the researchers found that the occurrence of cancer was affected by the interaction between the virus and the immune system, so the researchers wondered whether the interaction between the virus and the host immune system increased the body's risk of HCC; to analyze the possibility, the researchers examined the participants' blood samples to look for the "footprints" left by past viral infections, which are left on antibodies that reflect how the body's immune system responds to infections, and the mixture of each body's footprints creates a special pattern of exposure to the virusthen researchers examined more than 1,000 different viral footprints in blood samples of about 900 people, including 150 HCC patients, and identified specific viral exposure markers that accurately distinguish between HCC patients, patients with chronic liver disease and healthy volunteers, including footprint information from 61 non-pass-through viruses; The markers of blood samples in three patients with chronic liver disease were analyzed, and during the study period, 44 participants developed HCC, and when the patient's cancer was diagnosed, using the blood samples to be analyzed, the researchers were able to accurately identify specific markers from individual organisms with HCC, and more importantly, when the researchers used blood samples taken at the beginning of the study to study, the markers were still detectabletesting for this marker appears to be much more accurate than the testing of alpha-meldonium, and the next step is for researchers to be able to move into thephase ofclinical trials, and they will work with other researchers to test the new method in a prospective study of people with HCC risk factorsResearchers say viral infections (which do not cause cancer) may alter the host's immune system function in a way that affects the body's ability to develop other cancers, such as a specific infection that reduces the host's ability to suppress cancer, and now researchers are testing for this particular viral exposure marker in prostate cancer patients, while other researchers are applying the method to screening multiple cancers in the Asian population, including ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer,liver cancerandbreast cancer(BioValleyBioon.com)original origins: Jinping Liu et al, A Viral Exposure Photos Defines Early Onset of hepatocellular Carcinoma , Cell (2020) DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.05.038