Source: Duke University Medical Center
Posted: April 2, 2006
The unchecked activity of a cell signaling pathway crucial in embryonic development and the liver's response to injury leads to liver cancer, researchers from Duke University Medical Center and John Hopkins University School of Medicine have found.
Because the pathway, called Hedgehog, is present only in immature, stem-like liver cells, the discovery offers hope for targeted treatment of liver cancer. Laboratory experiments have shown that blocking the Hedgehog pathway kills cancer cells but leaves mature healthy liver cells intact. Treating patients with medications to interrupt the pathway would likely eliminate the cancer cells while sparing healthy liver tissue, said Jason Sicklick, M.D., a postdoctoral fellow at Duke and lead author of the study.
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