2023-05-13 14:00:00
“Currently, 25-30% of American adults are obese and likely have fatty liver diseaseexplains Ekihiro Seki, author of a study that has just been published in the journal Cell Metabolismin a communiqué. Our work has shown that fatty liver cells secrete proteins and genetic material that promote the spread of colorectal cancer to the liver, which means doctors may need to manage colorectal cancer patients with liver differently. bold.“
Fatty liver disease increases the risk of spreading colorectal cancer
Foie gras is a phenomenon called fatty liver. This can be defined as the accumulation of fat in liver cells. Normally, this organ has very little fat when it is healthy. High alcohol consumption can be responsible for fatty liver disease, but this disease can also develop unrelated to this drink.
“Our study showed that even mild fatty liver disease increased the risk of cancer spreading [colorectal], poursuit Ekihiro Seki. So, we advise physicians to really pay attention to patients with colorectal cancer who might have fatty liver disease. Among our patient samples, we noted that more than 40% of them had fatty liver disease, but doctors often do not order the specialized MRI needed to detect it, which means that many cases go undiagnosed. .“According to the authors, 70% of patients with colorectal cancer will develop metastases which are the main cause of death in these patients.
Extracellular vesicles stimulate cancer invasion
To reach their conclusions, the researchers worked on mice. Some had been fed a high-fat diet and therefore had fatty liver disease. They thus observed that their liver cells produced greater quantities of extracellular vesicles. These are particleswhich act as intercellular messengers” according the Curie institute.
“Extracellular vesicles produced by fatty liver cells contain three types of microRNAs that stimulate cancer proliferation, migration and invasion, details Ekihiro Seki. Cancer cells absorb these extracellular vesicles and these microRNAs react with another protein called Yes-associated protein (YAP) to promote tumor growth. Thus, the primary cancer in mice with fatty liver becomes more aggressive and more metastatic.“YAP proteins also suppress the immune system in the immediate environment of tumors which might make them resistant to immunotherapy, according to the authors.
A very important study because colon cancer remains one of the most common and deadliest in France. In 2018, 43,336 new cases and 17,117 deaths related to this disease were recorded, according to the site Public health France.
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