Liver cancer on the rise

Malignant liver tumor is the fourth type of cancer with the highest lethality rate in Mexico , although in the next few years it could be among the first, said Saúl Villa Treviño , researcher in the Department of Cell Biology of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies ( Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados abbreviated Cinvestav ) of the National Polytechnic Institute ( Instituto Politécnico Nacional abbreviated IPN ). The expert said that obesity and diabetes increase the risk of developing this disease.

The studies carried out by the experts of the IPN are focused on analyzing how cancer stem cells and their normal stem cell counterparts behave.

Teresita Flores Téllez

and Carolina Piña Vázquez , Cinvestav research members, explained that one of the possible causes for relapses in cases of liver cancer treated "successfully" may be the plasticity presented by the tumor cells.

"It was proposed that eliminating the stem cells would be a more efficient way to attack the tumor, but it has been seen that when those cells are eliminated, the differentiated cells become stem cells," Carolina Piña Vázquez said.

According to a statement, researchers analyze how and when the first cancer stem cells originate and their reprogramming process with animal models .

Until now, the presence of certain proteins in tumor generation has been identified which might aid to develop a clinical test for the early detection of liver cancer.

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