Scientist and professor of oncology Yu Jun is currently leading a research project at the University of Hong Kong where he is analyzing the possibilities of a fungicide to prevent liver cancer.

Their study has been published in the prestigious North American scientific journal Science Translational Medicine’.. It states that the fungicidal drug Terbinafine “may serve as a new therapeutic strategy in the prevention and treatment of liver cancer in NAFLD patients”. This drug has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. NAFLD is a disease that affects between 30% and 40% of the adult population worldwide.

Fungicidal drug to shrink liver tumors

Yu Jun’s team studied RNA (ribonucleic acid) from non-alcoholic fatty liver and hepatocellular carcinoma tissue samples, as well as adjacent healthy tissue from patients, which allowed them to observe that there was an overabundance of the SQLE gene in the cancerous tissue.

The researchers also found that mice with overactive SQLE genes developed tumors more frequently and that terbinafine – a drug commonly used in the treatment of fungus, especially in feet and nails – “significantly reduced the size of the tumors.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), 8.8 million people died of cancer worldwide in 2015, of whom 788,000 suffered from liver cancer, the most lethal behind those of the respiratory system (trachea, bronchus or lung).

Although NAFDLD is a form of liver cancer whose molecular process is still unknown, the appearance of this fungicidal drug offers some hope. It should not be forgotten that this condition is particularly prevalent in the obese population.

Source: EFE