WASHINGTON : Scientists have identified a diagnostic biomarker of deadly liver cancer and a potential way to reverse the damage that has been done.
Liver cancer is often lethal in humans because it is diagnosed in late stages.
“Hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, remains the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide due to a lack of biomarkers for early detection and rapid fatality shortly after diagnosis,” said Ying Fu, of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in the US.
“In this work, we demonstrate that a damaged lesion on a DNA base (guanine) is correlated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in two mouse models,” Fu said.
“It has the potential to serve as a biomarker for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma.
“Furthermore, polyphenon E, a formulation of green tea extract containing antioxidant catechins (plant metabolites) showed the most potent effect to suppress the lesion.
“More importantly, 86 per cent of the mice on the polyphenon E diet appeared to have complete protection from tumour development,” Fu said.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Philadelphia. (AGENCIES)
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