About 80 percent of people with liver cancer had hepatitis B or C, but about 30 percent of them do not receive follow-up treatment, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday, urging people not to leave chronic hepatitis untreated.
Cancer registration data from 2018 showed that liver cancer ranked fourth in the nation’s 10 most common types of cancer and data for last year showed it was the second most common cause of cancer deaths, claiming 7,773 lives.
Viral hepatitis is the largest risk factor for liver cancer worldwide, the HPA said.
Photo: CNA
However, based on a health-risk behavior survey that the agency conducted in 2018, about 30 percent of people diagnosed with hepatitis B or C did not seek follow-up treatment, it said.
Among those who were untreated, about 60 percent said they felt healthy and did not have symptoms, about 20 percent said they did not know they needed to seek treatment and about 10 percent said they did not have time for treatment, it said.
People diagnosed with hepatitis B or C should make regular follow-up visits to gastroenterologists and hepatologists, and follow prescriptions to reduce the risk of developing chronic liver diseases, cirrhosis and liver cancer, the HPA said.
People aged 45 to 79 and Aborigines aged 40 to 79 are eligible for a one-time government-funded screening for hepatitis B and C, the agency said, adding that it offers subsidies for follow-up treatment.
Aside from viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease can also increase the risk of liver cancer, the HPA said.
The risk factors of fatty liver disease include obesity, eating food high in fat, hyperlipidemia, excessive alcohol use, poorly controlled diabetes and lack of exercise, it said, adding that the disease can be improved by losing weight, maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
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