There is a relationship between elevated serum iron and transferrin saturation levels and an increased risk of liver cancer. This was revealed in the virtual program of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases’ 11th annual meeting held Nov. 12-15.
Your liver is an organ the size of a football, located above your stomach and below your diaphragm.
Many types of cancer can develop in the liver. Hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer that begins in liver cells, most often causes liver cancer. Cholangiocarcinomas and hepatoblastomas are less common than other types of liver cancer in the intrahepatic space.
Serum Iron Levels May Increase The Risk Of Liver Cancer Among NAFLD Patients
Being overweight or obese increases your risk of developing these tumors. Fortunately, liver damage from these tumors is unlikely. Nonetheless, there is a risk of disease associated with excessive liver fats. Stroke and heart attack are more likely to occur in those who suffer from NAFLD.
Weight loss and regular exercise are usually used to treat NAFLD in overweight and obese individuals. You also lower your chances of developing NAFLD and cardiovascular disease.
Drinking excessively is unlikely to cause NAFLD; therefore, heavily intoxicated people likely won’t develop it. Simple fatty livers are the most common cause of NAFLD. People who have NASH are fewer in number. Patients with NASH are unlikely to develop cirrhosis. It is rare for fatty liver to progress to more severe NAFLD.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh examined iron-related markers of hepatocellular carcinoma risk and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk as part of a study by Yi-Chuan Yu and colleagues. Using electronic health records, 47,970 patients with NAFLD were analyzed between 2004 and 2018.
Throughout this period, 194 patients developed HCC. Patients with NAFLD who are older, white, male, and previously smoked have a greater risk of developing HCC than patients without. Serum iron levels exceeding 174 mcg/dL increase the probability of developing HCC by twice when compared to a normal range. Saturation levels of transferrin doubled HCC risk. The serum ferritin levels and total iron-binding capacity did not have any significant relationship with HCC risks.
Iron is an essential ingredient for every living organism. The cellular processes require iron-containing proteins. Due to its properties as a transitional metal, iron plays a crucial role in biology.
Conversely, an excess of reactive iron produces free radicals, which damage DNA and macromolecular components of cells. A large percentage of excess iron in the body is stored in the liver. The condition of mild-to-moderate iron accumulation in the liver can lead to liver cancer in individuals with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, chronic hepatitis C, or alcoholic liver diseases.
Considering these findings, iron has been linked to liver cancer both on a causal and a promotional basis.
Scientists have been studying molecules that regulate iron metabolism and iron-related cell death programs, including ferroptosis since the mid-2000s to understand the relationship between hepatic iron accumulation and hepatocarcinogenesis.
As a co-author explained in a statement, physiological changes result in constant fluctuations in serum iron concentrations. Further studies are needed to investigate whether serum ferritin and iron levels in individuals with NAFLD are associated with HCC risk.
