Why non-alcoholic fatty liver disease turns into liver cancer or other serious problems
Official title: Novel Determinants for Progression of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease to Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Other Health Outcomes
Funded at University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh · NIH-11178421 · Data updated 2026-11-12
The team will look for biological and environmental factors in adults with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease that make the condition progress to liver cancer or end-stage liver disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | September 7, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $897,025 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA255809-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11178421 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, particularly those with liver fibrosis or cirrhosis, would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without NAFLD, those whose liver disease is mainly due to alcohol, or anyone seeking an immediate treatment effect are unlikely to gain direct benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You would be followed over time alongside other adults with fatty liver disease and researchers will compare those whose condition worsens to those who remain stable. The study will analyze blood and liver samples, bile acids, immune markers, and gut microbial metabolites and may use lab models to test how these factors change liver immunity and scarring. Investigators are especially interested in how an immune-permissive liver environment, environmental toxins, and microbial products drive progression to fibrosis, cirrhosis, or cancer. Results are intended to point to tests or targets that could predict or prevent serious outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to earlier blood tests to find high-risk patients and new targets to prevent or treat liver cancer from fatty liver disease.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has linked fibrosis and some microbiome changes to higher liver cancer risk, but this combined focus on immune tolerance, environmental toxins, and gut metabolites is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yuan, Jian-Min — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Yuan, Jian-Min
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progresses to liver cancer
This study is looking at what causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to get worse and possibly lead to liver cancer, so we can find better ways to prevent and treat it for people who are at risk.
-
Glutamine and macrophage behavior in liver cancer
A funded project at a medical university aims to understand how the liver’s immune cells interact with a specific type of liver cancer by looking at metabolism, especially glutamine and ammonia.
-
Adding PSMA PET/CT imaging to liver cancer care for veterans
This project tests a new PET imaging approach to help diagnose and guide treatment for liver cancer in veterans.
-
Blood markers to catch early liver cancer in Hispanic people with hepatitis B
This project will see if a blood test can find liver cancer earlier in Hispanic people who have chronic hepatitis B.
-
Early blood markers to find hepatitis B–related liver cancer in Hispanics
This project will use immune-related blood markers to find liver cancer earlier in people with chronic hepatitis B, focusing on Hispanic adults.
-
Towards a blood-based test using nanophotonic exosomes to screen and diagnose liver cancer
A new blood test using tiny particles shed by liver cancer cells aims to screen for hepatocellular carcinoma earlier and more accurately.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.