Liver fat steers the outcome of advanced colorectal cancer

RESEARCH BRIEFINGS

01 July 2026

In about 50% of people with colorectal cancer, tumour cells spread to distant organs. The ability of these metastases to grow into the liver tissue shapes prognosis. It emerges that liver fat promotes a form of liver metastasis with a poor prognosis, suggesting that individual-specific traits can inform risk stratification and treatment.

This is a summary of: Peng-Winkler, Y. et al. Steatosis shapes prognosis-defining liver metastasis heterogeneity in CRC. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10686-2 (2026).

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01747-7

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