The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports liver cancer is the ninth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, and the third leading cause worldwide. More than 75 percent of liver cancers are hepatocellular carcinoma, according to the American Cancer Society. Other, more rare types of liver cancer include bile duct cancer, hemangiosarcoma and hepatoblastoma.
Gender, Age, Race
The incidence of liver cancer is nearly three-fold higher in men than in women, according to the CDC. Liver cancer primarily affects people over the age of 60; cases are highest in people between the ages of 70 and 79. Certain races, including Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Hispanics and African Americans, have higher incidences of liver cancer.
Hepatitis Viral Infection
Chronic infections with hepatitis viruses B and C are the most common causes of hepatocellular carcinoma, accounting for 78 percent of cases globally, according to the CDC. In the United States, hepatitis C infection is more prevalent. Hepatitis C is spread by contact with blood, unprotected sexual contact and in childbirth. Chronic hepatitis viral infection can lead to cirrhosis.
Liver Diseases
Cirrhosis; hemochromatosis, a disorder of excessive iron accumulation; autoimmune hepatitis; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; and Wilson's disease, a disorder of excessive copper accumulation, all increase the risk for developing liver cancer. Cirrhosis refers to end-stage liver disease by multiple causes with irreversible scarring and loss of liver function. An article in the April 2007 issue of "Gastroenterology" notes that cirrhosis is present in 70 to 90 percent of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Alcohol
Chronic alcohol consumption can cause fatty liver disease and ultimately liver cirrhosis. A review article in the April 2010 issue of "Orvosi Hetilap" says that patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis develop hepatocellular carcinoma at an incidence between 3 and 15 percent.
Diabetes and Obesity
A review in the August 2010 issue of the "World Journal of Gastroenterology" reports that multiple studies suggest that type 2 diabetics have approximately a two-fold greater risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma than people without diabetes. The review in "Gastroenterology" says that results from a study on more than 900,000 people in the United States found that liver cancer deaths are five times greater in obese men than in men who had a normal body mass index. The risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma is even higher in people who have type 2 diabetes and are obese.
Toxins and Chemicals
People who are exposed to aflatoxins, which are produced by molds that grow on peanuts, corn, rice, soybeans and wheat, have an increased risk for liver cancer. Occupational exposure to vinyl chloride, thorium dioxide and arsenic can also cause an increased risk for liver cancer.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- American Cancer Society: Liver Cancer
- "World Journal of Gastroenterology"; Non-viral Causes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma; Wojciech Blonski; August 2010
- "Gastroenterology"; Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Epidemiology and Molecular Carcinogenesis; Hashem B. El--Serag and K. Lenhard Rudolph; April 2007
- "Orvosi Hetilap"; Hepatocellular Carcinoma; Feher Janos and Lengyel Gabriella; April 2010
