Grant Details
Grant Number: |
7R01CA204145-06 Interpret this number |
Primary Investigator: |
Hussain, Shehnaz |
Organization: |
University Of California At Davis |
Project Title: |
Gut-Related Markers and Hepatocellular Cancer in a Multi-Ethnic Cirrhotic Cohort |
Fiscal Year: |
2020 |
Abstract
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In the United States, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) incidence and mortality rates are increasing among the
most rapidly of all cancers. Cirrhosis, characterized by long-standing inflammation, is a well-defined pre-cancer
lesion, although the transformation from cirrhosis to HCC is poorly understood. Currently, the only clinical
option for the increasing, high-risk population of patients with liver cirrhosis is to watch and wait for HCC to
develop. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify pathways for the progression of liver cirrhosis to HCC.
Experimental data show that perturbations in the gut-liver axis are carcinogenic to the liver. Bile acids,
produced in the liver and metabolized by gut bacteria are hepatocarcinogenic in mice, and lipopolysaccharide
(LPS, a component of bacterial membranes) leaking from the gut causes liver cancer in mice. Our preliminary
data show that deoxycholic acid (DCA, a secondary bile acid and gut metabolite) and intestinal fatty acid
binding protein (I-FABP, a marker of enterocyte damage and gut permeability) are elevated, while several
other bile acids and immune markers are reduced, in the plasma of cirrhotics with HCC compared to cirrhotics
without HCC. In prior prospective cohort studies, we have demonstrated that markers related to LPS exposure
(e.g. sCD14) and chronic immune activation/inflammation (e.g. interleukin 6 & IFNγ-induced protein 10) are
elevated prior to the development of lymphoma in high risk HIV-infected populations by several years. In the
proposed study, we will examine the contributions of bile acids, markers of LPS exposure, and immune
response to LPS to HCC in a high-risk clinical cohort of 370 cirrhotic patients who are followed prospectively
for HCC development. We will recruit study participants for two years from the large pool of patients awaiting a
liver transplant at two large transplant centers in Los Angeles. We expect that approximately 40% of our study
population will be Hispanic, which will allow us to examine pathways for HCC in the demographic group that is
at the highest risk for HCC and stands to gain the most from the proposed research. Study participants will
provide baseline duodenal aspirate fluid, peripheral blood specimens, epidemiological data, nutritional data,
and consent to access their medical charts. Mid-way through year four, we expect that 56 cohort members will
have developed HCC over the follow-up period. We will design a nested case-control study to include 56 HCC
cases and 112 cirrhotic controls (matched 2:1), and measure 7 candidate bile acids and 14 immune markers in
in paired blood (serum) and duodenal aspirate fluid specimens from these participants. We will test each
marker individually, and with other clinical and epidemiological characteristics, for association with HCC using
mixed effects logistic regression. The information gained from this study may open prospects for therapeutic
interventions or new parameters for transplant prioritization that could delay or avert HCC in the cirrhotic
patient.
Publications
Duodenal Microbiome and Serum Metabolites Predict Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Multicenter Cohort of Patients with Cirrhosis.
Authors: Dong T.S.
, Jacobs J.P.
, Agopian V.
, Pisegna J.R.
, Ayoub W.
, Durazo F.
, Enayati P.
, Sundaram V.
, Benhammou J.N.
, Noureddin M.
, et al.
.
Source: Digestive Diseases And Sciences, 2021-11-20 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2021-11-20 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 34799768
Related Citations
Improved survival after treatments of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease associated hepatocellular carcinoma.
Authors: Benhammou J.N.
, Aby E.S.
, Shirvanian G.
, Manansala K.
, Hussain S.K.
, Tong M.J.
.
Source: Scientific Reports, 2020-06-18 00:00:00.0; 10(1), p. 9902.
EPub date: 2020-06-18 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 32555268
Related Citations
Dietary Protein, Fiber and Coffee Are Associated with Small Intestine Microbiome Composition and Diversity in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.
Authors: Hussain S.K.
, Dong T.S.
, Agopian V.
, Pisegna J.R.
, Durazo F.A.
, Enayati P.
, Sundaram V.
, Benhammou J.N.
, Noureddin M.
, Choi G.
, et al.
.
Source: Nutrients, 2020-05-13 00:00:00.0; 12(5), .
EPub date: 2020-05-13 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 32414035
Related Citations
Emerging risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease associated hepatocellular carcinoma.
Authors: Benhammou J.N.
, Lin J.
, Hussain S.K.
, El-Kabany M.
.
Source: Hepatoma Research, 2020; 6, .
EPub date: 2020-06-18 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 32685690
Related Citations
Microbial Profiles of Cirrhosis in the Human Small Intestine.
Authors: Dong T.S.
, Jacobs J.P.
, Hussain S.K.
.
Source: Current Gastroenterology Reports, 2019-08-23 00:00:00.0; 21(10), p. 50.
EPub date: 2019-08-23 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 31444636
Related Citations
Microbiome and bile acid profiles in duodenal aspirates from patients with liver cirrhosis: The Microbiome, Microbial Markers and Liver Disease Study.
Authors: Jacobs J.P.
, Dong T.S.
, Agopian V.
, Lagishetty V.
, Sundaram V.
, Noureddin M.
, Ayoub W.S.
, Durazo F.
, Benhammou J.
, Enayati P.
, et al.
.
Source: Hepatology Research : The Official Journal Of The Japan Society Of Hepatology, 2018 Dec; 48(13), p. 1108-1117.
EPub date: 2018-07-30 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 29923681
Related Citations