Mailman School of Public Health researchers report blood DNA can be early predictor of liver cancer

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Public release date: 15-Apr-2007

Columbia

University's Mailman School of Public Health

Mailman School of Public Health researchers report

blood DNA can be early predictor of liver cancer

Researchers

at Columbia University’s

Mailman School of Public Health have discovered a means for early detection of

liver cancer. Using DNA isolated from serum samples as

a baseline biomarker, the scientists examined changes in certain tumor

suppressor genes that have been associated with the development of liver

carcinomas. This is the first study to prospectively

examine potential biomarkers for early detection of liver cancer in high-risk

populations, including those with chronic hepatitis B and C virus infections.

Since

most hepatocellular or liver carcinomas (HCC) are

diagnosed at an advanced and usually fatal stage, the development of screening

methods for early detection is critical. HCC is one of

the most common and rapidly fatal human malignancies. Worldwide,

the almost 500,000 new cases and nearly equivalent number of fatalities

illustrates the lack of effective therapeutic alternatives for this disease.

The Mailman

School researchers and colleagues

studied the blood of patients enrolled in a cancer screening program in Taiwan,

who provided repeated blood samples prior to diagnosis. A

total of 12,000 males and over 11,900 females recruited in 1991-2 are being

followed. Screenings performed by the team of Mailman

School scientists found changes

associated with cancer in serum DNA, presumably released from the tumor, one to

nine years before actual clinical diagnosis.

Certain

clinical risk factors such as age and hepatitis B and C virus infections, are

well documented risk factors for the development of HCC. According

to the study findings, these factors coupled with smoking and alcohol status,

and alterations found in this study in serum DNA, resulted in an overall

predictive accuracy of 89% for detection of HCC.

“These

are extremely encouraging findings,” says Regina Santella,

PhD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public

Health, director of the Columbia’s

NIEHS Center

for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan, and

principal investigator on the research. “Having

the tools to identify hepatocellular carcinoma at

earlier stages, is truly a breakthrough for addressing the challenges that

result from this highly lethal form of cancer.”

Dr. Santella and the team of researchers previously found that

several environmental factors including aflatoxin B1,

a dietary mold contaminant sometimes found in peanuts and corn; polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons, ubiquitous environmental contaminants; and

4-aminobiphenyl, a carcinogen found in cigarette smoke, are also associated

with the development of HCC. While HCC incidence is highest

in East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, it is

also increasing in the U.S primarily as a result of HCV infection.

“We

are not only very excited about what this means in terms of early detection for

hepatocellular cancer but optimistic about how it could

also be applied to other cancers,” observes Dr. Santella.

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