Group Studies Estrogen Receptors And Cancer Prevention In Chronic Hepatitis C.

2001 NOV 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Estrogen, a hormone rarely mentioned without inciting controversy, may prevent liver cancer in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Medical researchers in Japan have confirmed that estrogen receptors (ERs) on the liver, which modulate estrogen activity, could be the link to cancer prevention, based on a study of over 1100 individuals with chronic hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a risk factor for a form of primary liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

"This study was performed to assess possible implications of menopause and hepatic ER levels for the development of cirrhosis," Ichiro Shimizu and colleagues, Tokushima University School of Medicine, Japan, said in a new report.

After dividing the 1199 patients into two groups to reflect menopausal differences, i.e., those older than 49 years and those 49 years or younger, the investigators studied liver tissue and tumor samples for the presence of ERs and metabolic changes that might have decreased or increased the number of ERs present in the liver.

"The proportion of females among the HCC subjects less than or equal to49 years of age was significantly lower (15.0%) than was the proportion of females among subjects >49 years of age (29.8%)," Shimizu and team reported.

Statistical analysis showed patients with HCV-related HCC were more likely to have lower levels of ER and an enzyme that depletes extracellular toxins known as free radicals, and higher levels of the blood marker MDA (malondialdehyde), associated with oxidative ...