Prevention of liver cancer
Primary liver cancer is a malignant tumor, the growth of which begins in the liver, unlike metastatic – when the tumor appears in another organ, and then with the blood flow metastasizes to the liver.
To date, liver cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer. In the later stages, when metastases occur, it practically does not respond to treatment. Hope appeared after an unexpected finding by a group of scientists from the University of California, San Diego.
While studying the pathogenesis of liver cancer, scientists have discovered that double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is able to stimulate the body's own immune system to fight against cancer cells. This discovery provides the basis for the creation of a drug for the prevention of liver cancer in people at risk.
On the left – liver cancer induced by a chemical carcinogen, without treatment; on the right – the result of the introduction of synthetic double-stranded RNA at the precancerous stage.
The authors of the study used the method of deletion (deletion) of genes in order to find out how different types of cells interact with each other to suppress tumor growth. It was found that synthetic dsRNA inhibits the development of cancer at the earliest stage by activating the body's own immune system.
When polyinosin polycytidylic acid, which forms the basis of synthetic dsRNA, was introduced into the body, the growth of primary liver cancer in mouse models was inhibited. Tumor growth was suppressed by reprogramming the cellular responses of macrophages and activation of T-killers and dendritic cells that directly destroy tumor cells and form acquired immunity.
Mice with a tumor induced by chemical carcinogens were injected with polyinosin polycytidylic acid at different stages. Tumor growth was suppressed most effectively when administered before the start of active tumor growth – a month after exposure to the carcinogen. Three months after the injection, the dynamics of tumor reduction decreased, but was still significant. After five months, when the tumor was already beginning to grow actively, the inhibitory effect of dsRNA was practically absent.
According to the authors of the study, work is planned in the future to study dsRNA as a vaccine, its dosage and timing of administration. In addition, attention will be paid to the combination of dsRNA with other drugs and their effect on tumor growth at a later stage.
The results of the study show that there is a chance to defeat primary liver cancer. There is still a lot of work ahead, but in the conditions of a significant increase in morbidity, it is fully justified.
Article by Jin Lee et al. Preventive Inhibition of Liver Tumorigenesis by Systematic Activation of Innate Immune Functions is published in the journal Cell.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on UC San Diego Health: A New Strategy for Prevention of Liver Cancer Development.