The role of circadian rhythms in liver cancer

The circadian clock is an internal, 24-hour timekeeping system that’s synchronized with the light-dark cycle, and it’s resident in basically all our cells. Kristin Eckel-Mahan, PhD, recently discovered an important molecular mechanism linking the circadian clock to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth. When her lab “repaired” the broken circadian clock within HCC cells, they were able to cause cell death. Her findings suggest that altering circadian function could provide prevention strategies and even, in the long term, treatment strategies for HCC, which is the most common type of primary liver cancer. Kristin Eckel-Mahan, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Center for Metabolic and Degenerative Diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. 2:15 – On the rise in incidence and mortality rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer 4:03 – Risk factors for HCC 5:24 – The role of fatty liver in increased HCC risk 9:22 – A particularly interesting description of the circadian clock and its importance in health 13:05 – The role of the circadian clock in liver cancer, and how she’s studying a protein’s role in circadian repression 20:34 – Therapeutic prospects related to altering the circadian system and the promise of chronotherapy (treatment of an illness or disorder that takes into account the body's natural rhythms and cycles) 27:52 – A message she’d like to share with cancer patients and caregivers