Researchers at Skoltech and MSU Professor Olga Dontsova have discovered non-coding RNA pertaining to the liver. The research team compared RNA amounts in a healthy liver and a liver affected by carcinogenesis. They found that the RNA can be used as a biomarker for postoperative diagnosis of various liver cancers. Their research was published in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology.
The new molecule HELIS (HEalthy LIver Specific) and functions as a healthy liver biomarker. Olga Burenina, a research scientist at the Skoltech Center for Life Sciences (CLS) and the first author, stated, “Many classical tumor markers do not always show up in the case of cancer or may have elevated levels due to noncancerous diseases, such as cirrhosis or hepatitis in the case of liver. The "healthy liver" markers can be more informative, because if a "malfunction" occurs in the cancer cells and, for example, HELIS are no longer produced as they should, the problem may not be fixed that easily."
"Currently, there isn't a single good diagnostic marker for liver cancer, so doctors make the diagnosis based mainly on ultrasound or CT tests and remove the entire tumor by surgery regardless of the suspected cancer type. As a biopsy is rarely taken, the final diagnosis is made based on the histology results that become available after 10 to 14 days," continued Burenina.