Three out of five cases of liver cancer worldwide could be prevented by reducing obesity and alcohol consumption and increasing intake of hepatitis vaccine, a study.
The Lancet Commission for Liver Cancer found that most cases were avoidable if alcohol consumption, fatty liver disease and the mirrors were reduced to viral hepatitis B and C.
The Commission determined several recommendations for political decision -makers, which, the estimated, could reduce the incidence of liver cancer cases by 2% to 5% by 2050, causing 9 m to 17 m new cases of liver cancer and savings of 8 to 15 million human life.
Prof. Jian Zhou from Fudan University in China, who headed research, said: “Liver cancer is a growing health problem worldwide. It is one of the most demanding cancer in which the five -year survival rates of around 5% to 30% are. Liver cancer. “
Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of cancer. The number of deaths is expected to grow from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million in 2050.
Earlier analyzes have predicted that the number of new liver cancer cases in 2022 will almost double to 1.52 m in 2050, mainly due to population growth and aging populations, the greatest increases in Africa. Currently, more than 40% of global cases of liver cancer occur in China in China, since the relatively high rates of hepatitis B infections are.
One of the fastest growing causes of liver cancer worldwide is fatty liver disease, and this is expected to increase due to the increasing obese rates.
A third of the world’s population has an estimated metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic diseases (MASLD)-in addition, referred to as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, in which fat builds up in the liver of a person-although it can be prevented by eating a balanced diet that can be prevented physically and possibly active.
Only 20% to 30% of people with MASLD develop the more serious form, metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis (mash), which can lead to liver cancer. The Commission said that the proportion of liver cancer cases associated with Mash was forecast from 8% in 2022 to 11% in 2050.
The second fastest growing cause is alcohol, with the associated liver cases, in contrast to 19%, will increase to 21% in 2022. In contrast, the proportion of liver cancer cases associated with hepatitis B will decrease from 39% in 2022 to 37% in 2050, while hepatitis-C-related cases decrease from 29% to 26%.
The professional author Prof Hashem B El-Serag of the Baylor College of Medicine in the USA said: “It was once assumed that liver cancer mainly occurs in patients with viral hepatitis or alcohol-related liver disease. Today, however, increasing obesity of obesity are increasing risk factor for liver cancer, especially due to the increase in excess fat fat in the vicinity of the liver.”
The Commission’s recommendations included that governments strengthen the HBV vaccination and carry out universal screening for adults. Introduction of prices and sugar taxes of minimal alcohol units as well as warning signs; invest in an early detection of liver damage and cancer; and improvement of palliative care for those affected.
The author of the Commission, Prof. Valérie Paradis of Beaujon Hospital in France, said: “There is a need to sharpen awareness within society for the severity of the growing health problems of increasing liver cancer cases.
“Compared to other types of cancer, liver cancer is very difficult to treat, however, different risk factors that help to define specific prevention strategies. In the case of common and continuous effort, we believe that many cases can be prevented and both the survival and the quality of patients with liver cancer are significantly improved.”
Dr. Matt Hoare, Associate Professor of Hepatology in the early Cancer Institute of the University of Cambridge, said that liver cancer was “different from many other types of cancer”, since the mortality rate was still increasing, the causes varying.
He said that changes to public health policy had proven to be effective, since Japan successfully reduced his mortality rate by implementing the prevention guidelines and improving recognition in order to find cancer. His team tries to identify new ways to recognize patients with liver diseases who develop cancer through the DNA sequencing of the liver.