A new international study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has identified a genetic factor that may explain why some patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver experience more severe liver damage after chemotherapy. In their study, published in The Lancet eBioMedicine , the team showed the a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the PNPLA3 gene is associated with a heightened risk of chemotherapy-associated liver injury (CALI) in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM).

“This is the first study to clearly show that a genetic predisposition plays a significant role in how the liver tolerates chemotherapy,” said senior author Patrick Starlinger, MD, PhD, a hepatobiliary and pancreas surgeon at Mayo Clinic Comprehens

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