Texas medical center awarded more than $1 million for liver research

UT Southwestern Medical Center was awarded $1.35 million by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas for research in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis, according to a release from the medical center.

Hao Zhu, MD, assistant professor at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, will use the funds to further investigate the SWI/SNF pathway and develop effective therapies for cirrhosis and HCC drugs that will not harm the cirrhotic liver, according to the release.

“Recently, we identified a pathway, [the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling pathway] that when suppressed, results in better liver regeneration and can potentially inhibit [HCC],” Zhu said in the release. “We will use mouse models to validate the pathway as a target in chronic liver disease and cancer. We will develop novel compounds for the simultaneous treatment of cirrhosis and cancer in the liver.”

Texas has the second highest incidence rate in the US for HCC and cirrhosis is the strongest risk factor for it, according to the release.

Other grants were also awarded to the center to fund research for anti-cancer immunotherapy and new antibody therapy for the treatment of leukemia.