14 DAY TRIAL // Investigators at the University of Iowa were recently able to determine that a single protein underlies a molecular pathway that connects liver cancer to conditions as diverse as obesity, hepatitis and alcoholism. All three conditions can from now on be considered factors that contribute to the development of liver cancer, the team argues.
Details of the work were published in the latest online issue of the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS Genetics, which is edited by the Public Library of Science, EurekAlert reports.
The molecule in question is called the C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). Previous investigations suggested that this protein was actually involved in protecting the body against cancer, but the UI group found that it actually promoted its development, in a study conducted on unsuspecting lab mice.
The findings made in this study are significant because liver cancer is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Statistics show that liver cancer rates have doubled in the United States over the past couple of decades. Researchers believe that much of this increase can be attributed to the growing incidence of obesity in this country.