In recognition of Rare Diseases Day today, Liver Cancer Connect is honored to feature an article by guest blogger, Gail Trecosta. Gail’s son is fighting a rare form of liver cancer.
We’ve all heard or seen heartbreaking stories of children with cancer. Ours began in October 2012. Our world turned upside down when our 13-year-old son was diagnosed with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FHC).
Continue reading "Fighting FHC: A Family’s Battle Against a Rare Liver Cancer"
Welcome to the newly launched blog from Liver Cancer Connect, the Hepatitis B Foundation’s dedicated program on liver cancer. The blog will focus on issues that affect families facing liver cancer.
On the recent World Cancer Day 2014, we ushered in the new year with both sobering news and some optimism.
First the sobering news. The American Cancer Society recently reported1 that the number of new cases of liver cancer and the number of deaths due to this disease continue to increase.
The rate of liver/bile duct cancer has risen by 3% to 4% per year and mortality by about 2% over the past 2 decades. In sharp contrast, the death rate for all cancers combined has been steadily declining over the same period and the number of new cases has decreased for most cancers.
Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world, and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. In fact, every 30 seconds, one person in the world dies of liver cancer.
Yet liver cancer is largely preventable!
Eliminating the main risk factors for liver cancer — chronic hepatitis B and C infections and fatty liver disease — can stop the development of liver cancer.
Chronic hepatitis B and C infections, which cause about 85% of liver cancers worldwide, are preventable and treatable. A safe vaccine against hepatitis B (the world’s first anti-cancer vaccine) has been available since 1986. And while a cure is not yet available, hepatitis B infections can be kept under control with effective treatments. There is no vaccine yet for hepatitis C, but it can be cured. And fatty liver disease can be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight and diet.
Equally important in preventing liver cancer are screening and surveillance, which help to find the cancer early. Screening is the first test that a person undergoes to detect either an increased risk for liver cancer or the actual presence of the cancer. Surveillance refers to the regular monitoring for liver cancer on a ~6-month basis.
Early detection increases the number of treatment options available and the chances of successful treatment. A targeted oral therapy called Nexavar (sorafenib) is currently approved for liver cancer in more than 70 countries, and researchers are looking for new ways to fight liver cancer with fewer side effects. Many of these potential new treatments are being studied in clinical trials.
So there is room for optimism. With greater public awareness of the risk factors and how to prevent them, and new therapies being developed, it is possible to reverse the bleak statistics for liver cancer.
With the rallying call, “Liver cancer is preventable!” Liver Cancer Connect is putting the spotlight on the prevention of liver cancer.
Our patient-focused website (www.livercancerconnect.org) explains the main risk factors for liver cancer and the importance of screening, surveillance, and early intervention. Over the next few months we will be expanding the resources on the website and bringing you more news and information on liver cancer. We encourage you to explore the website and send us your comments.
1. Siegel R, Ma J, Zou Z, Jemal A. Cancer Statistics, 2014. CA Cancer J Clin 2014 (epub ahead of print).
HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the
latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored:
HBV Journal Review
February 1, 2014
Vol 11, no 2
by Christine M. Kukka
Tests for Antigens and Drug-Resistant Virus Emerge as Valuable Diagnostic Tools
Measuring the amount of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in your bloodstream or conducting quick tests for drug-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) may soon be part of your office visit in the brave new molecular world of hepatitis B treatment.
Doctors increasingly are measuring HBsAg levels to determine if treatment is needed or if current medications are working. HBsAg tests—along with measuring alanine aminotransferase (ALT) for signs of liver damage and HBV DNA for viral load—may become essential tools to assess hepatitis B progression or remission.
HBsAg is the protein that makes up the outer covering of HBV. When a patient has a high viral load (and is positive for the hepatitis B “e” antigen—HBeAg), there are often large quantities of HBsAg circulating in the blood stream. When viral replication slows and HBeAg disappears, there can be lower quantities of HBsAg.
But experts are learning that high HBsAg levels can increase cancer risk, even in HBeAg-negative patients, according to a study published in the journal Annales de Biologie Clinique. (1) As a result, there is heightened attention on HBsAg as a key indicator of a patient’s health. For example:
Another team of French researchers, also exploring the implications of HBsAg in an article published in the February 2014 issue of the journal Liver International, suggest that as HBsAg levels decline, so does the risk of liver cancer.
They also suggest that during antiviral treatment, a rapid decline in HBsAg may indicate which patients will eventually clear HBsAg. A 100-fold decline or more of HBsAg over six months of treatment, “… could be a marker of a sustained response after treatment cessation,” they wrote.(2)
In another diagnostic breakthrough, researchers writing in the December journal of Clinical Molecular Hepatology promoted the value of a HepB Typer-Entecavir kit that can precisely detect HBV that have viral mutations that can “resist” the antiviral drug entecavir (Baraclude). This diagnostic tool allows doctors to select the most effective antiviral for each individual patient based on the molecular makeup of their HBV.(3)
1. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24235324 2. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24373085 3. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24459645
Experts Issue a Report Card on Side Effects from Antivirals
Hong Kong researchers evaluated the side effects of commonly-used antivirals in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Antivirals disrupt the genetic make-up of HBV, making it difficult for the virus to replicate. While generally safe, patients must take antiviral pills daily over several years and side effects include damage to the mitochondria of the body’s cells (called mitochondria toxicity.)
Continue reading this and additional studies for Februrary
