Urea dysfunctions in the liver may signal cancer

The urea cycle is the main way that the human body disposes of nitrogen waste. New research suggests that disruptions in this process may be an early sign of cancer.

Blood measurements of urea and the presence of pyrimidine in urine may soon help diagnose cancer.

A new study, now published in the journal Cell, suggests that the way in which the human body processes nitrogen may be key to finding new ways of detecting and destroying cancer.

Nitrogen is a gas that is vital for all organisms. Both plants and animals need it in order to make proteins.

When our body processes nitrogen, it generates a substance called urea as waste; the body later eliminates this substance through urine.

This metabolizing process is called the urea cycle, and it takes place in the liver.

New research suggests that dysregulations in the urea cycle could be a marker of cancer. The new study was led by Dr. Ayelet Erez, from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.