Eating Raw (freshwater) Fish can give you Liver Cancer [View All]

[n2doc]

Eric Bland, Discovery News


Oct. 12, 2009 -- Uncooked fish can cause human liver cancer, but most sushi lovers need not worry since the condition comes only from eating certain freshwater fish.

The human liver fluke, a freshwater parasite endemic to areas of Thailand, Japan, and Siberia, triggers human liver cancer by creating harmful cell mutations, encouraging tumor growth, and stopping normal cell death, according to a study released yesterday in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

The research could help prevent millions of people from developing liver cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer "has classified Opisthorchis viverrini as a Class One carcinogen," said Sutas Suttiprapa, a scientist at George Washington University and a co-author of the PLoS Pathogens papers.
"I think that over the next year or next few years there will be a big campaign to treat and give these people some knowledge to stop eating raw fish."

more:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/10/12/fish-parasite-cancer.html