Fatty liver disease, diabetes and a triglycerides level of above 160 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) are three major risk factors for developing liver cancer, and the disease’s progression does not necessarily include chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis, the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) said yesterday.
Liver cancer has been the second-leading cause of cancer deaths for many years, and about 85 percent of cases have been associated with chronic hepatitis viral infections — primarily chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C — which usually progress to cirrhosis before developing into liver cancer, it said.
However, as more cases of liver cancer that did not involve chronic hepatitis viral infection were diagnosed, the institute in 2005 teamed up with five medical centers to study the cases to identify other key risk factors of liver cancer, it added.
NHRI investigator and attending physician Huang Shiu-feng (黃秀芬) said the team compared data from 411 liver cancer patients who did not have chronic hepatitis infection with 840 patients who had hepatitis infections, and discovered that risk factors for metabolic syndrome also apply to non-viral causes of liver cancer.
People who are over 60 and have at least two of the three risk factors should regularly undergo liver cancer screenings, Huang said.
The researchers also analyzed liver cancer patients who were not addicted to alcohol and did not have cirrhosis, and found that among people who had at least two of the risk factors in this group, more than 70 percent of the men and more than 90 percent of the women had liver cancer without hepatitis infection, she said.
The findings prove that in addition to commonly known risk factors — chronic hepatitis, alcohol addiction and cirrhosis — the three non-viral risk factors they have identified point at increased risk of developing liver cancer, Huang said.
Since Taiwan follows a universal hepatitis B vaccination policy and as new drugs can cure hepatitis C, the government should raise awareness in patients with fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome so that they can learn about the increased risks of developing liver cancer and undergo cancer screenings.
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Liver Cancer Research Center director Yeh Chau-Ting (葉昭廷) said about 60 percent of adults in Taiwan have fatty liver, but those who have fatty liver accompanied by inflammation have a higher risk of developing liver cancer.
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