A new study has found that the androgen receptor (AR), a protein that mediates males sex hormones, may be the reason why men are more likely to develop liver cancer and other illnesses, according to findings published in Science Translational Medicine.

The AR has been found to be the central area that maintains testosterone levels and can also greatly affect several other organs.

For this trial, a team of researchers used a mouse model and introduced the animal to the hepatitis B virus, which has been proven to lead to liver cancer. Using an experimental drug called ASC-J9, the researchers were able to suppress the AR, which prevented the mouse from developing the disease.

The researchers concluded that while the trial was successful, it may only be able to help patients who are in the early stages of liver cancer.

According to the paper, “it will be interesting to see if targeting AR at different stages or in different liver cancer cell types may also lead to differential effects during the progression of cancer.”

In 2009, more than 16,000 men were diagnosed with liver cancer, and approximately 18,160 patients died from the disease, according the American Cancer Society.