Liver cancer: the cellular environment plays a role in liver tumor growth

Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The majority of patients present with hepatocellular carcinoma, but 10 to 20 percent of those affected develop the other form of primary liver cancer – a highly invasive bile duct carcinoma within the liver (intrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma). Although both tumor types show overlaps regarding their risk factors, the number of patients with intrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinomas has increased noticeably in recent years. A team of researchers led by Professor Lars Zender from the University Hospital Tübingen (Germany), in collaboration with researchers from the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, USA), the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and the CNRS, has now demonstrated that the surrounding cellular environment with its dying liver cells determines the path taken by tumor cells. The findings have been published in the journal Nature.

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