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Primary liver cancer subtype incidence grew in deprived areas of England

Incidence of liver cell and intrahepatic bile duct carcinomas increased over time among men and women in areas of deprivation in England, according to results from a new study.

Julie Konfortion, MSc, of the Knowledge and Intelligence Team, Public Health England, and colleagues analyzed patient data from the National Cancer Data Repository between 1990 and 2009. All included patients (n=40,945) had been diagnosed with primary liver cancer; 41.5% had liver cell carcinoma, and 38.2% had intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma.

Julie Konfortion

Researchers found that during the period liver cell carcinoma incidence increased in men from 0.63 to 2.48 per 100,000 persons and from 0.18 to 0.59 in women. Intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma incidence also increased for both sexes: 0.4 to 1.25 per 100,000 persons in men and 0.28 to 1.08 in women. Sensitivity analyses concluded that hepatocellular carcinoma also rose during the study period from 1 per 100,000 persons to 2.3 among men and from 0.27 to 0.51 among women.

The highest incidence rates of liver cell and intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma incidents occurred in patients in England’s most deprived areas. Men residing in the most deprived quintile areas had the highest increased incidence rate (2.4 per 100,000 to 4.26) compared with men living in the least deprived quintile (1.18 per 100,000 to 1.63). Women living in the most deprived quintile had an average incidence rate of 0.74 per 100,000 vs. women living in the least deprived quintile (0.4).

“The incidence of liver cell carcinoma and intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma in both men and women increased between 1990 and 2009 in England,” Konfortion told Healio.com/Hepatology. “The increase in liver cell carcinoma was largely among patients living in the more socio-economically deprived areas, particularly men. This may be due to variation in the prevalence of risk factors such as hepatitis B and C viral infections and excess alcohol consumption.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.