Genetic Variation Doubles Risk of Liver Cancer

(Page 2)

Knowing this, the research team analyzed tissue samples from 207 Massachusetts General Hospital patients with cirrhosis, the majority of whom were infected with hepatitis C. Of that group, 59 had a hepatocellular carcinoma. The researchers found that patients with at least one copy of the guanine nucleotide were two times more likely than patients with only adenine nucleotides to develop liver tumors. Patients with two guanine nucleotides were four times more likely to develop liver tumors.

The researchers also found that EFG levels were highest in those people with two guanine nucleotides.

The team then analyzed data from patients at the Paul Brousse Hospital in Paris, most of whom suffered from alcoholic cirrhosis. These patients were three times more likely to have a liver tumor if they had two guanine nucleotides than if they had two adenine nucleotides.

The researchers noted that age and gender had no effect on the genetic risk of developing the tumor. The majority of the subjects were Caucasian, but the researchers found an increased risk of the genetic variation among Asian patients. More than half of hepatocellular cancer cases worldwide occur in China.

Tanabe and his colleagues called for a study of patients with cirrhosis before the development of liver cancer to better understand other variables, such as diet and medications, that could affect EFG levels.

More information

To learn more about liver cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute .