GRAND RAPIDS, MI An international research effort led by a Van Andel Institute scientist has identified several new genes frequently mutated in bile duct cancer, a deadly form of liver cancer.

The breakthrough came after two years of intensive research that involved scientists visiting villagers in northern Thailand, an area with a high rate of bile duct cancer, according to VAI officials.

The research was led by Bin Tean Teh, the director of the Van Andel Research Institutes Translational Cancer Research Laboratory at the National Cancer Center in Singapore.

According to a statement released by VAI, bile duct cancer accounts for 10 to 25 percent of all primary liver cancers worldwide and has a poor prognosis, the VAI says. The high incidence in Thailand is attributed to consumption of raw fish infected with parasites, called liver flukes. The flukes cause infection in the bile duct and eventually cause cancer.

The researchers analyzed bile duct cancers of Thai patients and discovered mutations in 187 genes. They focused on 15 genes that were frequently mutated.

This discovery adds depth to what we currently know about bile duct cancer, Teh said in VAIs statement. More important is that we are now aware of new genes and their effects on bile duct cancer, and we now need to further examine their biological aspects to determine how they bring about the onset of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer).

We are talking about the potential to save many lives in Thailand, said Professor Vajarabhongsa Bhudhisawasdi, director of bile duct cancer research at Khon Kaen University of Thailand.

The research findings are published online in Nature Genetics.

Email Sue Thoms at sthoms1@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/suethoms

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Van Andel Institute leads breakthrough research into deadly form of liver cancer

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