Sterling, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Liver Institute (GLI), the only patient-led liver health nonprofit operating internationally, in partnership with TriSalus Life Sciences®, an immunotherapy company on a mission to extend and improve the lives of patients living with liver and pancreatic tumors, today announced the launch of Liver Central, a comprehensive online guide for all things related to liver cancer.
Liver Central provides a central location for those seeking educational materials about the liver and liver cancers, including treatment options and ongoing clinical trials. With founding support from TriSalus Life Sciences, GLI developed this new resource to fill a significant gap in the availability of educational resources and tools. Liver Central will be regularly updated with the latest information on the central role the liver plays in overall health, immunological pathways that impact liver tumor progression and resistance to therapies, as well as treatment approaches and guidelines for various types of liver cancer.
“The growing burden of liver cancer is deeply concerning as more patients hear the words ‘you have liver cancer’ and are left with few treatment options. LiverCentral.org is designed to raise awareness of this vital organ and provide answers for patients and clinicians looking for information and new approaches to treat this devastating disease,” said Donna Cryer, founder and CEO of the Global Liver Institute, and a 27-year liver transplant recipient.
“Our hope is that Liver Central will serve as an enduring educational resource to support patients, clinicians and researchers along the cancer care continuum,” said Steven C. Katz, MD, FACS, chief medical officer at TriSalus. “We want to raise awareness as to how unique the liver is in general, and with respect to how liver immune function creates therapeutic challenges for cancer patients. As we work to bring multi-modality approaches to better address these challenges and ensure more patients can benefit from the promise of immunotherapy, we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with GLI to develop this resource and advance care for patients living with liver tumors.”
In a recent discussion on GLI LIVE, GLI’s weekly educational program that provides tailored information for patients living with liver diseases on a variety of timely topics, Dr. Katz and Ms. Cryer highlighted Liver Central’s functionality for experienced and new patients alike. During their discussion, they spoke at length about the critical need to reinvent liver cancer education, tailor therapeutic approaches based on the unique biology of the liver, and how a central hub of information can bring about positive change in a patient’s experience with liver cancer.
Over the last several decades the percentage of Americans who develop liver cancer has grown. Liver cancer is among the leading causes of cancer death worldwide with more than 800,000 people diagnosed annually.(1) Additionally, the liver is one of the most common sites of metastatic cancer. Liver metastases – not the primary cancer – are often the cause of mortality. In fact, for colorectal cancer patients whose cancer has metastasized to the liver, the 5-year survival rate is only 11%.(2)
Today, patients urgently need new treatment options that are designed to address the unique challenges specific to liver tumors. Despite progress made in cancer treatment, patients with primary or metastatic liver tumors still experience poor outcomes, as these tumors remain stubbornly difficult to treat. Two of the most significant barriers that prevent optimal delivery and performance of therapeutics for liver and pancreatic tumors include immune response suppression and ineffective drug delivery due to high intratumoral pressure. The high intratumoral pressure prevents medicine from entering the tumor, meaning patients often receive little benefit from new immunotherapy drugs such as checkpoint inhibitors and CAR T-cell therapies. While these treatments may help reduce symptoms, there is no cure for liver metastases.
Learn more about the educational resources offered through Liver Central at livercentral.org.
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About Global Liver Institute
Global Liver Institute (GLI) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in the belief that liver health must take its place on the global public health agenda commensurate with the prevalence and impact of liver illness. GLI promotes innovation, encourages collaboration, and supports the scaling of optimal approaches to help eradicate liver diseases. Operating globally, GLI is committed to solving the problems that matter to liver patients and equipping advocates to improve the lives of individuals and families impacted by liver disease. Follow GLI on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
About TriSalus Life Sciences
TriSalus Life Sciences is an immunotherapy company on a mission to extend and improve the lives of patients living with liver and pancreatic tumors. By integrating an immunotherapeutic with innovative drug delivery technologies, TriSalus’ platform seeks to address two of the most significant barriers that limit the effectiveness of current treatments for liver and pancreatic tumors: immunosuppression and high intratumoral pressure.
The company is studying the ability of SD-101, a potentially first-in-class, investigative TLR9 agonist, to reactivate the immune system within the liver and pancreas to enable more durable responses to other immunotherapeutics (e.g., checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cell therapy) and improve patient outcomes. The platform, which leverages TriSalus’ proprietary Pressure-Enabled Drug Delivery™ (PEDD™) method of administration, modulates pressure and flow within blood vessels to improve the amount of therapy delivered to the tumor. While meaningful progress in these difficult-to-treat diseases will not be easy, TriSalus is focused on advancing science and technological innovation to transform outcomes for patients. To learn more, visit trisaluslifesci.com and follow @TriSalusLifeSci on Twitter and LinkedIn.
(1) American Cancer Society. (n.d.). Key statistics on liver cancer. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/liver-cancer/about/what-is-key-statistics
(2) Valderrama-Treviño AI, Barrera-Mera B, Ceballos-Villalva JC, Montalvo-Javé EE. Hepatic Metastasis from Colorectal Cancer. Euroasian J Hepatogastroenterol. 2017;7(2):166-175. doi:10.5005/jp-journals-10018-1241
