{
  "id": 16871368,
  "title": "CityUHK researchers discover fructose metabolism suppresses liver cancer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/cityuhk-researchers-discover-fructose-metabolism-suppresses-liver",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-28T08:10:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Vietnam Investment Review",
    "slug": "vietnam-investment-review",
    "url": "https://vir.com.vn/cityuhk-researchers-discover-fructose-metabolism-suppresses-liver-cancer-163767.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "CityUHK researchers have discovered that dietary fructose can suppress the growth of liver cancer cells, contrary to previous claims that it fuels tumour growth. The study, led by Professor Yin Huiyong and Professor Zhong Shanshan, published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, found that fructose metabolism is regulated differently in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than in other tissues. As HCC progresses, a key gene responsible for breaking down fructose becomes downregulated, causing an accumulation of an intermediate metabolite, fructose 1-phosphate (F1P). This F1P binds to mannose phosphate isomerase (MPI), inhibiting its activity and triggering endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, ultimately leading to cancer cell apoptosis. The team also identified mannose as a potential therapeutic complement to fructose, as supplementing mannose bypasses the blocked step involving MPI and reverses the anti-cancer effect of fructose. Ebselen, an FDA-approved drug known for its antioxidant properties, was found to effectively inhibit MPI, inducing ER stress and suppressing liver cancer growth. The researchers believe that ebselen's clinical translation could be accelerated due to its established safety record, potentially offering a faster route to patient application compared to developing a new drug from scratch. This discovery challenges the notion that fructose is inherently harmful and highlights the importance of considering metabolic context when evaluating the effects of dietary components on cancer metabolism.",
  "summary": "Researchers at the City University of Hong Kong identified cellular fructose metabolic mechanisms that suppress liver cancer growth offering novel therapeutic pathways for oncology",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}