VA Research Wrap Up: New findings on liver cancer, suicide screening and heart failure

VA’s Office of Research and Development recently published three News Briefs highlighting how statins may protect against liver cancer, new information on suicide screening and a potential new treatment to prevent heart failure.

Statins may protect against liver cancer through metabolic process

VA Greater Los Angeles researchers and their colleagues discovered a chemical process through which statins protect against liver cancer.

By using genomic sequencing and imaging on human tissue samples, they showed statins lower the production of a molecule called GGPP, which in turn stops the protein YAP from traveling into the nucleus of liver cells where it causes damage. By blocking this chemical chain reaction, statins may stop tumor growth in patients with cancer via fatty liver disease by protecting nearby healthy cells.

The findings imply that statins offer liver protection beyond simply lowering cholesterol by inhibiting metabolic processes that drive cancer growth.

View the full study from “Hepatology Communications.”

Many Veterans hesitate to answer suicide screens accurately

VA Portland researchers learned that more than one-third of Veterans may not respond accurately during universal suicide screenings.

In a survey of about 800 Veterans who received VA mental health specialty care, 38.1% who screened negative and 45.8% who screened positive for suicidal thoughts reported responding less than “very accurately” to screening questions.

Concerns about overreaction and beliefs about the acceptability of suicide were the most common reasons given for withholding information. A separate study by the researchers found fear of involuntary hospitalization was a consistent barrier to Veterans disclosing suicidal thoughts.

The findings highlight the need to build trust between Veterans and clinicians and inform Veterans of how screening results will be used. Clinicians also should not overly rely on screening results and consider risk factors and behavioral warning signs when making clinical decisions about suicide risk, according to the researchers.

View the full study from “Psychiatric Research.”

New treatment could prevent heart failure in rheumatoid arthritis

VA Nebraska-Western Iowa researchers developed a drug that could protect against heart failure caused by rheumatoid arthritis.

Chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis creates toxic chemicals called reactive aldehyde species, which can build up in heart tissue and cause heart inflammation and scarring. Using a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis, the researchers showed how administering a drug that inhibits reactive aldehyde species successfully blocked the build-up of this harmful chemical, which significantly lowered heart dysfunction.

The results suggest medications targeting this chemical process present a potential new approach to preventing heart failure related to rheumatoid arthritis.

View the full study from the “International Journal of Molecular Sciences.”

For more Office of Research and Development updates, visit ORD online or go to https://www.research.va.gov/news_briefs/.