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Bone Loss and Vitamin D Deficiency Are Common among People with Liver Cirrhosis

People with liver cirrhosis -- a potential outcome of chronic hepatitis B or C -- frequently experience bone loss, or reduced bone mineral density (BMD), and often have low vitamin D levels, according to an Indian study published in the July 28, 2009 issue of World Journal of Gastroenterology.

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EASL 2009: Does HBV Viral Load Level Predict Development of Liver Fibrosis?

Two studies presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL 2009) last month in Copenhagen looked at the association between HBV DNA level and development of fibrosis, with findings suggesting that the role of HBV viral load differs for hepatitis B "e" antigen (HBeAg) negative and HBeAg positive individuals.

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Association between Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection and Extrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer

It is well known that chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) can lead to advanced liver disease, including hepatocellular carcinoma (a form of primary liver cancer) over the course of years or decades. Now, a new study published in the April 15, 2008 International Journal of Cancer indicates that viral hepatitis may also promote development of cancer of the extrahepatic bile duct, which transports bile from the liver to the small intestine, joining with a similar duct from the gall bladder.

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Two Studies Look at Promising Therapies for Liver Cancer: Sorafenib and Doxorubicin

Two recently published studies produced promising data on experimental therapies for HCC: the systemic chemotherapy drug sorafenib (Nexavar), and combination therapy using doxorubicin-eluting beads plus radiofrequency ablation.

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EASL 2008: Sorafenib (Nexavar) Improves Outcomes in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In a late-breaker presentations at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL 2008) last month in Milan, researchers discussed data from the SHARP study, which evaluated sorafenib (Nexavar) as a therapy for HCC. Sorafenib, which was already approved for primary kidney cancer, recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for unresectable (not curable by surgery) HCC.

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