Patients with cirrhosis are at risk for developing portal hypertension that can lead to the formation, dilation, and rupture of esophageal varices. The annual incidence of esophageal varices is approximately 5% and one third of those will bleed.

Patients with cirrhosis of the liver develop abnormally dilated blood vessels in esophagus. These are called esophageal varices. Blood vomiting may occur from the rupture of these varices, which may be fatal, so it is important to eradicate these varices.

A prospective study of patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C (CHC) revealed that a 3-variable model of serum fibrosis markers, including serum HA, TIMP-1 and platelet count, could identify cirrhosis with better accuracy than other published models.

Two new studies examine non-invasive ways to determine liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. An enhanced version of the Original European Liver Fibrosis panel was found to have good diagnostic accuracy for fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

A particular gene variation appears to significantly increase the risk that individuals with cirrhosis of the liver will go on to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a liver tumor that is the third leading cause of cancer death.

CT colonography (CTC), when used in elderly patients, can detect a high number of new and significant abnormalities outside the colon (including cirrhosis and tumors) and is well tolerated, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds, United Kingdom (UK).

Beta blockers should be the first line of prevention against variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. While banding is similarly effective in reducing the incidence of such bleeding, it can have fatal complications and is more expensive.

Adding more good news to last week's announcement that Nexavar® (sorafenib) may be the first effective treatment for advanced liver cancer, researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University have uncovered a new molecular mechanism that may "spontaneously" cause liver cancer.

The use of peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, points to a cure for hepatitis C, the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplant, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher said today.

Measuring liver stiffness using transient elastography can predict severe portal hypertension in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, according to a new study in the May issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

The way the liver renews itself may be simpler than what scientists had been assuming. A new study, appearing in the April 13 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry, provides new information on the inner workings of cells from regenerating livers that could significantly affect the way physicians make livers regrow in patients with liver diseases such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, or cancer.

In studies in mouse models, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have found that a cellular receptor involved in triggering cell death is also a necessary component of tissue repair and regeneration immediately following liver injury. This discovery could have implications for early intervention or therapy in liver disease such as cirrhosis or hepatitis.