New model shows how cells that cause liver cancer are created

(Okayama University) Scientists have discovered how liver cancer spreads, but they haven't yet learned how liver cancer cells are born. A team of Okayama University scientists has now established a model that demonstrates how, given the right body environment and without genetic mutation, normal stem cells can convert into cancer stem cells, which in turn proliferate and cause the cancer tumor to grow. Their model could help develop targeted drugs and therapies for liver cancer.