Telling the Hospital Story: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center investigates an illuminating liver cancer risk

When it comes to liver cancer, you may already know classic risk factors like cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B and C viruses. But a Seattle-based epidemiologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is investigating a lesser-known potential contributor that may not be on your radar: solar jet lag.

Solar jet lag is when a person’s internal clock is misaligned with the sun’s clock, also known as circadian disruption. It primarily affects people who work at night and sleep during the day, as well as those who work in western time zones. And like jet lag, it can lead to adverse health outcomes. Trang VoPham, Ph.D., is launching a five-year grant to study the connection between solar jet lag and heptocollular carcinoma, or HCC — the most common form of liver cancer. HCC is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and globally.

“Similar to other organs, the liver has an internal circadian clock and timing system that adjusts physiological processes to their relevant time of day,” said VoPham, principal investigator in Fred Hutch’s Geospatial Exposome Lab and associate professor in the Public Health Sciences Division. “Disruption of the circadian clock … leads to disfunction of circadian clock-controlled cellular processes and molecular pathways, which has been linked to the pathophysiology and progression of liver disease as well as to risk factors for HCC such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD.”

The grant, funded by the American Cancer Society, builds on earlier work exploring the relationship between HCC and solar jet lag. However, VoPham’s team will leverage their newly developed, high-resolution geospatial model for solar jet lag and link it with geocoded residential addresses of U.S. veterans, enhancing their ability to assess the impact of solar jet lag exposure on HCC.

Learn more about the research and the grant.