5 recent reports on liver cancer rates, mortality factors

As liver cancer rates continue to increase globally, researchers have focused on identifying mortality factors and options to improve overall survival following treatment and transplantation.

Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease presents the following reports on the correlation between education level and mortality rates, improved transplant survival with live donor livers, intrahepatic bile duct cancer rates, and a study that showed a reduced risk for liver cancer from diets high in whole grains.

Liver cancer mortality more common among those with lower education

Researchers found that the increased rates of liver cancer-related mortality in the United States were significantly linked to individuals with less education, especially among men.

“There are substantial differences in the burden of liver cancer among populations, with the incidence and death rates higher in men than women, in minority racial groups than whites, and in persons with a lower socioeconomic status (SES) than persons with a higher SES,” Jiemin Ma, PhD, MHS, from the American Cancer Society, and colleagues wrote in their study published in Cancer. “Understanding contemporary temporal trends in liver cancer rates by individual-level SES is important for advocacy and public health policy to curb the growing burden of this disease.” Read more

Live donor liver offers improve transplant survival in patients with HCC

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had a potential live donor at listing for liver transplantation had a significantly lower risk for mortality compared with those who waited for a deceased donor graft, according to recently published data.

According to Nicolas Goldaracena, MD, from the University of Toronto in Canada, and colleagues, the benefits derived from live donor liver transplantation (LDLT) related to a lower dropout rate and shorter waiting period. Read more

Deaths related to intrahepatic bile duct cancer increasing globally

A recent analysis showed that mortality from intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma has increased globally while mortality from extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma has leveled off or decreased.

Paola Bertuccio , PhD, from the University of Milan in Italy, and colleagues wrote that the increase in ICC-related deaths was likely due to better disease classification, whereas the decrease in ECC-related deaths likely followed the increased use of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Read more

Regional cohort shows stable liver cancer rates, earlier diagnoses

In contrast to current reports that show liver cancer rates increasing on the global scale, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma remained stable for 18 years in a large German cohort study.

Additionally, researchers found that HCC was increasingly diagnosed earlier, likely related to better screening programs and employment of therapeutic options. Read more

Increased whole grains in diet linked to reduced risk for liver cancer

Increased intake of whole grains correlated with a reduced risk for hepatocellular carcinoma among adults regardless of cancer etiology, according to study results published in JAMA Oncology.

“Consumption of whole grains and dietary fiber, especially cereal fiber, has been associated with lower risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which are known predisposing factors for HCC,” Wanshui Yang, PhD, from Anhui Medical University in China, and colleagues wrote. Read more