Journal of hepatology
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Journal of hepatology · Mar 2002
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialPolymorphonuclear neutrophils are a source of hepatocyte growth factor in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis.
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in liver regeneration. Plasma HGF levels correlate with survival and hepatocyte proliferation in alcoholic hepatitis (AH). As AH is accompanied by inflammation, neutrophilia and polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) infiltration of the liver, we postulated that PMN could be a source of HGF in such patients. ⋯ These findings suggest that, by releasing HGF, PMN could participate in liver regeneration during severe alcoholic hepatitis.
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Journal of hepatology · Mar 2002
Hepatic and extrahepatic malignancies in primary sclerosing cholangitis.
To assess the risk of hepatic and extrahepatic malignancies in a large cohort of Swedish primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) patients compared with that of the general Swedish population. ⋯ In this national-based study including the largest cohort of PSC patients ever presented, the frequency of cholangiocarcinoma is 13%. The risk of hepatobiliary carcinoma is constant after the first year after PSC diagnosis with an incidence rate of 1.5% per year. The risk of pancreatic carcinoma is increased 14 times compared with the general Swedish population. These results are suggestive of an increased risk of pancreatic carcinoma in patients with PSC.