December 12, 2022
Keio University School of Medicine
National Center for Global Health and Medicine
Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine
A research group led by Senior Assistant Professor Junko Kuramoto, Associate Professor Eri Arai, and Professor Yae Kanai of the Department of Pathology (Division of Molecular Pathology), Keio University School of Medicine, has developed a diagnostic method for the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) during follow-up. This diagnosis predicts the future risk of developing liver cancer by measuring the DNA methylation levels of biomarkers, which were discovered through a method for comprehensively examining the state of DNA methylation in the genome, using a proprietary anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography method. For NASH patients identified as high-risk, it is expected that continuous hospital visits and examinations will enable the early detection of liver cancer, leading to improved treatment outcomes. This method also has the potential to contribute to the prevention of carcinogenesis and personalized preventive medicine, and the group aims to accelerate its clinical implementation.
The results of this research were published in the international scientific journal Clinical Epigenetics (online) on December 5, 2022 (GMT).
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