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Hepatocellular carcinoma

Restoring gluconeogenesis: steroids could treat liver cancer

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 10, page 693 (2013)Cite this article

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Treatment with the steroid dexamethasone reduces the formation of liver tumours in a mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to new research. Crucially, dexamethasone restored gluconeogenesis in malignant hepatocytes, which indicates that targeting altered metabolism in liver cancer could prove useful as a therapeutic strategy for HCC.

Glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone are widely used in clinical practice as anti-inflammatory agents and can also be given to patients with cancer to counteract some of the adverse effects of chemotherapy (for example, anorexia and nausea). Increased glycolysis is a key feature of cancers to support tumour growth, and the study authors reasoned that altering cancer metabolism might be an alternative therapeutic strategy, especially in liver cancer, given the fundamental role of hepatocytes in metabolism.

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References

  1. Ma, R. et al. Switch of glycolysis to gluconeogenesis by dexamethasone for treatment of hepatocarcinoma. Nat. Commun. 4, 2508 (2013)

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  1. Katrina Ray
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Ray, K. Restoring gluconeogenesis: steroids could treat liver cancer. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 10, 693 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.215

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