Could This Vitamin A Derivative Cure Liver Cancer?

A new study reveals how a derivative of vitamin A called acyclic retinoid could help to eradicate the most common form of liver cancer: hepatocellular carcinoma.

Led by researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan, the study found that acyclic retinoid blocks the expression of a gene that gives rise to liver cancer tumors.

Study leader Soichi Kojima, of the Micro-Signaling Regulation Technology Unit at the RIKEN Center, and colleagues recently reported their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Around 22,000 men and 9,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with liver cancer every year.

The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This cancer may begin as a single liver tumor that gets bigger over time, or it can start as multiple cancer nodules throughout the liver.

The biggest risk factor for liver cancer is infection with hepatitis B or hepatitis C; these viruses can lead to liver cirrhosis, which can cause cell damage that gives rise to cancer.

Previous research has found that acyclic retinoid-which is a synthetic derivative of vitamin A-has the potential to stop the recurrence of HCC in individuals who have undergone surgical removal of primary tumors.

The precise mechanisms underlying this association, however, have been unclear.

To learn more about how acyclic retinoid might prevent HCC, the researchers investigated how the compound affects the transcriptome of cells, or the collection of RNA molecules that regulate gene expression.

The scientists found that, compared with untreated cells, cells exposed to acyclic retinoid showed a reduction in the expression of a gene called MYCN. This gene has been linked to the development of cancers such as neuroblastoma.

The researchers then suppressed MYCN gene expression in cancer cells. This not only halted cell proliferation, slowed cell-cycle progression, and stopped colony formation, but it also triggered cancer cell death.

Taken together, these findings indicate that acyclic retinoid could prevent HCC recurrence by reducing MYCN expression in EpCAM-positive cancer stem cells.