Regular exercise may help reduce the chance of developing liver cancer, a study has said.

The research involved two groups of mice that were fed a control diet and a high fat diet, which were then divided into separate exercise and sedentary groups.

The exercise groups were made to run on a motorised treadmill for 60 minutes per day, five days a week.

After 32 weeks of regular exercise, 71 percent of mice on the controlled diet developed tumours larger than 10mm versus 100 percent in the sedentary group.

The mean number and volume of HCC tumours per liver was also reduced in the exercise group compared to the sedentary group.

EASL`s Educational Councillor Prof. Jean-Francois Dufour said that the data showed significant benefit of regular exercise on the development of HCC and exercise reduced the level of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice receiving a high-fat diet.

Dufour said "The results could eventually lead to some very tangible benefits for people staring down the barrel of liver cancer and I look forward to seeing human studies in this important area in the future.

"The prognosis for liver cancer patients is often bleak as only a proportion of patients are suitable for potentially curative treatments so any kind of positive news in this arena is warmly welcomed," he added.