According to a recent estimate, primary liver cancer was one of the top three causes of cancer death in 46 nations in 2020, and by 2040, the number of primary liver cancer diagnoses and deaths could increase by more than 55% annually.
In a recent article in the Elsevier-published Journal of Hepatology, researchers demand that measures to control the disease be given priority. Senior author Isabelle Soerjomataram, MD, PhD, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Cancer Surveillance Branch, Lyon, France, stated: “Liver cancer generates a large burden of disease globally each year.” Major risk factors for the disease include hepatitis B and C viruses, alcohol use, excess body weight, and metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes. It is also completely preventable if control efforts are addressed.
“In light of the availability of new and improved global cancer incidence and mortality estimates, we wanted to provide the most up-to-date assessment of the burden of liver cancer and develop an essential tool for national liver cancer control planning,” explained lead author Harriet Rumgay, PhD candidate, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Cancer Surveillance Branch, Lyon, France. “In this analysis, we describe where liver cancer ranks among all cancer types for cancer diagnoses and deaths in nations across the world. We also present predictions of the future liver cancer burden to 2040.”
Researchers took information on primary liver cancer cases and fatalities from the GLOBOCAN 2020 database of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which generates estimates of cancer incidence and mortality for 36 cancer types in 185 nations worldwide. United Nations population forecasts were used to determine the projected change in the number of cancer cases or deaths by the year 2040.