Dec 9, 2005

Missing Link Between Hepatitis C and Liver Cancer

About 85 percent of liver cancer cases in the United States occur in people infected by the hepatitis C virus. The risk factors for the development of liver cancer in patients of Hepatitis C are the presence of cirrhosis, old age, male gender, elevated level of baseline alpha-fetoprotein, usage of alcohol and simultaneous infection with hepatitis B virus.

How does Hepatitis C virus cause liver cancer?
Scientists have long noted a link between chronic hepatitis C infection and an increased risk for liver cancer, and a new study is showing how. The study shows that the core (central) protein of hepatitis C virus is the culprit in the development of liver cancer. One of the hepatitis C virus proteins (NS5B) targets a cell protein (retinoblastoma) that is essential for suppressing the development of tumors, interfering with its ability to control cell proliferation. "By knocking out this 'tumor suppressor' and promoting the proliferation of liver cells, this rival protein sets the background for the development of liver for cancer. Removal of the restraints on tumor suppression results in immortality of cancer cells they divide and reproduce without the normal restraints, which is what happens in cancer.

"The way that NS5B docks with the retinoblastoma protein is biochemically almost identical to the way a protein made by human papilloma virus (HPV) does so to produce similar cancer-promoting results. HPV infection is considered to be the leading cause of cervical cancer. However the difference between these two viruses is that HPV is a DNA virus, while hepatitis C is composed of RNA virus. It is believed that with the help of these new findings improved treatments for people infected with hepatitis C could be developed in order to prevent liver cancer.

Janet      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Cancer
Cancer is a very common disease, approximately one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women will have some type of cancer at some point during the course of their life. Cancer is more common in the elderly and 77 percent of cancers occur in people above age 55 or older. Cancer is also common in children. Cancer incidence is said to have two peaks once during early childhood and then during late years in life. No age period is completely exempted from development of cancers. Some cancers occur predominantly in the elderly, other types occur in children, Cancer occurs in all ethnic races, however the cancer rates and rates of specific cancer types may vary from group to group. Late stages of cancer may be incurable in most cases, but with the advancement of medicine, more and more cancers are becoming curable.