Switch to हिंदी

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

हिंदी
  • Health A-Z
  • Diabetes
  • Diseases
    • Type 1 Diabetes
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Cancer
    • Heart Attack
    • Pneumonia
    • Diseases A-Z
  • Diet & Fitness
    • Weight Management
    • Exercise & Body Building
    • Diet & Recipes
    • Yoga
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Pregnancy
    • Conceiving
    • Infertility
    • Labour & Delivery
    • Pregnancy week-by-week
    • Breastfeeding
    • Baby Names
  • Beauty
    • Skin
    • Hair
    • Grooming
  • Photos
  • Videos
Home / Diseases-conditions / Cancer / When cancer spreads to the liver: Finding a way around this dangerous complication

When cancer spreads to the liver: Finding a way around this dangerous complication

 Liver metastasis is a dangerous complication in any cancer, and it leads to very poor prognosis for cancer patients. But experts may have a way to overcome this.

By: Jahnavi Sarma   | | Updated: January 6, 2021 11:45 am
Tags: Cancer awareness  Cancer metastasis  Cancer spread  Cancer therapy  
cancer, liver metastasis, spread of cancer to liver, cancer treatment
Patients with liver metastases receive little benefit from immunotherapy, a treatment that has been a game-changer for many cancers.

One danger that all cancer patients face is liver metastasis. In laymen terms, this means that the cancer has spread to the liver. This is a dangerous complication and, most of the time, it is irreversible, and it significantly increases the mortality rate of cancer patients. However, researchers have been trying a way to overcome this complication by understanding the reason for poor prognosis and developing new treatment procedure. Now, a new study finds that tumors in the liver siphon off critical immune cells, rendering immunotherapy ineffective. But coupling immunotherapy with radiotherapy to the liver may restore the immune cell function and led to better outcomes. This has tremendous implications and may well pave the way for better treatment and prognosis for patients. The study is published in Nature Medicine. Also Read - Prostate cancer: Bring down you risk of this condition by having several cups of coffee a day

Immunotherapy vs radiation therapy

According to researchers from University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, patients with liver metastases receive little benefit from immunotherapy, a treatment that has been a game-changer for many cancers. This research suggests that radiation therapy can reverse this resistance. This has potential to make a real difference in outcomes for these patients. A multidisciplinary team from the University looked at data from 718 patients who had received immunotherapy at the center. Patients had a variety of cancer types, including non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, urothelial cancer and renal cell cancer, which had spread to different organs, including the liver and lungs. Also Read - Thyroid cancer: In-utero exposures can increase your risk of this disease



Liver metastasis suppresses immune response

Repeatedly, those with liver metastases had worse responses to immunotherapy. The issue was not just in the liver either: these patients had more cancer throughout their bodies, compared to similar patients whose cancer had spread but not to the liver. The liver initiates a systemic immunosuppressive mechanism. The mechanism happens in the liver, but the entire body suffers the systemic impact. Also Read - Cellular 'death by iron' could be a new promising avenue of cancer treatment

The liver is one of the most common site to which cancer metastasizes. It’s known to interfere with immune response in autoimmune diseases, viral infections and organ transplants by suppressing certain critical immune cells. This plays out in metastatic cancer as oncologists observed a lack of immune response. Patients with liver metastases who received chemotherapy or targeted therapies did not have worse outcomes compared to those with other types of metastases. It’s unique to immunotherapy.

Tumous in liver siphon off the T cells

Looking within the microenvironment of the liver metastases, researchers saw that the tumors were siphoning off the T cells — immune cells that should have been working to attack the cancer. Not only were the T cells being eliminated in the liver, but this was also creating an immune desert throughout the body. As a result, the immune system could not be activated to fight tumors at any sites.

Activating the immune system with radiation therapy

Using mice with liver metastases, researchers delivered radiation therapy directly to the tumors in the liver. This stopped T cell death. With the T cells restored, an immune checkpoint inhibitor was then able to activate the immune system to eliminate the cancer throughout the body, on par with results seen in non-liver metastases.

Published : January 5, 2021 11:42 am | Updated:January 6, 2021 11:45 am
Read Disclaimer

Diabetes: Beneficial gut bacteria can play a key role in treating the condition

Diabetes: Beneficial gut bacteria can play a key role in treating the condition

New drug-delivery system opens possibilities for treatment of numerous neurological disorders

New drug-delivery system opens possibilities for treatment of numerous neurological disorders

Please Wait. Article Loading ....

Coronavirus Updates

Coronavirus Updates

Stay Informed, Be Safe

  • 'Game changer against Covid-19': Expert panel recommends phase 1 trial of Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine
  • COVID-19 Live Updates: Cases in India surge to 10,595,660 while death toll reaches 1,52,718
  • Obesity, alcohol consumption can lower effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines
  • Catastrophic moral failure: WHO warns against unequal COVID-19 vaccine distribution
  • Covid-19 vaccine alert: Covishield not advised to those allergic to any of its ingredients

Health Calculators

BMI Calculator
bmi Calculator
Ideal Body Weight
ideal body weight
Daily Calorie Intake
Daily calorie intake
Calories Burned
calories burned

Related Stories

Prostate cancer: Bring down you risk of this condition by having several cups of coffee a day

Prostate cancer: Bring down you risk of this condition by having several cups of coffee a day

Thyroid cancer: In-utero exposures can increase your risk of this disease

Thyroid cancer: In-utero exposures can increase your risk of this disease

Cellular 'death by iron' could be a new promising avenue of cancer treatment

Cellular 'death by iron' could be a new promising avenue of cancer treatment

Pancreatic cancer can creep up silently: Be aware of the symptoms for early diagnosis and treatment

Pancreatic cancer can creep up silently: Be aware of the symptoms for early diagnosis and treatment

Health News in Hindi

Boosting Immunity With Ayurveda: आयुर्वेद के ये 4 नुस्खे बढ़ाते हैं इम्यूनिटी, हर उम्र के लोगों के लिए हैं कारगर

Corona Vaccine: बिल्‍कुल कॉमन नहीं है कोरोना वैक्‍सीन के ये 5 साइड इफेक्‍ट, इनके दिखने पर हो जाएं गंभीर

LIVE Covid-19 Live Updates: भारत में कोरोना के मरीजों की संख्या हुई 1,05,95,660 अब तक 1,52,718 लोगों की मौत

कोविड-19 वैक्सीन को लेकर WHO प्रमुख ने दी चेतावनी, कहा- होने वाला है बड़ा नैतिक पतन

Covaxin से साइड इफेक्‍ट हुआ तो भारत बायोटेक देगा मुआवजा, जानिए कितनी मिलेगी राशि

Read All

Recent Posts

  • ‘Game changer against Covid-19’: Expert panel recommends phase 1 trial of Bharat Biotech’s nasal vaccine
  • COVID-19 Live Updates: Cases in India surge to 10,595,660 while death toll reaches 1,52,718
  • Obesity, alcohol consumption can lower effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines
  • Green Mediterranean diet could benefit people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
  • Eluru-like mysterious illness emerges in Andhra Pradesh’s Pulla village

About The health Site

TheHealthSite.com is India's largest health site with more than 40 lakh unique visitors per month. We focus on fitness, beauty, health, pregnancy and more.

Most popular health and wellness website in India in 2012 at the Website of the year awards.

health@corp.india.com
+91 – 22 – 6697 1234
Landline Phone number 91 – 22 – 2490 0302.

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LTD, 18th floor, A-Wing, Marathon Futurex, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013.

Useful Links

  • Weight Loss
  • Keto Diet Tips
  • Skin Care Tips
  • Intermittent Fasting
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Ashwagandha
  • Cancer
  • Pneumonia
  • Diarrhoea
  • Dengue
  • Typhoid
  • Tuberculosis
  • Chickenpox
  • Chikungunya
  • Depression
  • Hepatitis
  • Diabetes
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Arthritis
  • Swine Flu
  • Baby Names
  • Cough and cold
  • Heart Attack
  • Breast Cancer
  • Ebola Virus
  • Dengue
  • Malaria
  • International Yoga Day
  • Hypotension
  • Heart Failure
  • Asthma
  • Brain Tumour
  • Celebrity Fitness
  • Goitre
  • HIV/AIDS

We respect your privacy

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Author Profiles

Copyright © 2021 Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved.