Cancer rates are on the rise worldwide, and liver cancer is the sixth most common cause of the disease, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. But a study published this week in The Lancet shows that doesn’t have to be the case.
In fact, the researchers behind the study say at least 60% of liver cancers could be preventable with some simple lifestyle changes.
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What causes liver cancer?
The number one cause of liver cancers is viral infections like Hepatitis B and C. There’s a vaccine to help prevent Hepatitis B and while there is not one for Hepatitis C, it is avoidable.
However, the proportion of liver cancer cases caused by infections is expected to fall by 2050.
According to an NBC News report, Hepatitis B infections accounted for 39% of liver cancers in 2022, but that is expected to fall to 36.9% by 2025. The report also said Hepatitis C accounted for 29.1% of liver cancers in 2022, but that is expected to drop to 25.9% by 2050.
However, researchers say other common causes of liver cancer are expected to rise by 2050.
In 2022, alcohol use accounted for just under 19% of liver cancers. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to 21%.
Obesity is another big factor in developing liver cancer, with 8% of cases linked to it in 2022. That’s projected to go up to 10.8% by 2050 as obesity rates continue to rise. According to Baptist Health South Florida, in the United States alone, the obesity rate is expected to rise from around 40% to more than 65% by 2050.
What changes will make the biggest difference?
The newly-published study said the number of liver cancer cases is expected to nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to more than 1.5 million in 2050, but that can be prevented with some lifestyle changes.
Excess alcohol consumption is often linked to liver disease like cirrhosis and cancer, so cutting back can help.
“I think for most people, if you say cirrhosis, they immediately think of a relative, of someone who was a heavy drinker,” Dr. Hashem El-Serag, one of the study’s co-authors said. “I think the vast majority do not make the tie between MASLD, or fatty liver, and cirrhosis and liver cancer.”
MASLD stands for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, but is better known as fatty liver disease. It affects about 25% of adults in the U.S. and can lead to a more severe form, called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), significantly increasing the risk of cancer.
The study’s authors laid out some recommendations they say could reduce the incidence of liver cancer cases by 2-5% each year by 2050. That would amount to saving up to 15 million lives.
They include:
- Getting more people vaccinated against Hepatitis B.
- Universal screening for adults.
- Minimum alcohol unit pricing.
- Implementing sugar taxes.
- Adding warning labels.
Sugar taxes and minimum pricing on alcohol have both been linked to curbing consumption.
