The death rate of liver cancer is "quietly" increasing, and the reason is not the hepatitis B virus!

Among malignant tumors, there is a cancer with high incidence and high mortality, but it has not received enough attention.

In China, the incidence of liver cancer ranks fifth, but the mortality rate ranks second in malignant tumors

Why is liver cancer mortality so high?

Many patients are diagnosed with liver cancer at an advanced stage, resulting in poor treatment effects and poor prognosis

In addition, the liver has the most abundant blood supply, and the blood circulation is very fast

In recent years, the cause of liver cancer has been "quietly" changing

The main causes of liver cancer are hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), followed by risk factors for liver cancer include aflatoxin intake and long-term intake.

From the data point of view, in 2019, hepatitis B virus infection still accounted for the largest proportion of liver cancer deaths (40%), followed by hepatitis C virus infection (29%), alcohol (19%), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (7%) and other reasons (5%)

Mortality from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and alcoholic hepatitis increased, while mortality from hepatitis B and C virus infections decreased

From 2010 to 2019, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis was the fastest growing cause of liver cancer globally (up 39%), while hepatitis C virus infection grew the least

This change in etiology and epidemiology has a lot to do with the improvement of hepatitis B vaccination coverage, the wide application of antiviral therapy, and the promotion of safe and effective oral anti-hepatitis C virus drugs

Global proportion of liver cancer deaths by WHO region in 2019

Although global liver cancer deaths in 2019 were mainly concentrated in the Western Pacific region (countries in East and South Asia including China, Japan, and South Korea), age-standardized mortality rates for liver cancer in this region remained stable during 2010-2019

Beware of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease caused by obesity

While the surge in liver cancer deaths from obesity-related nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has primarily occurred in the Americas, the data predict that this trend will increase further in the Americas, Europe and Asia over the next decade

According to the "Report on Nutrition and Chronic Disease Status of Chinese Residents (2020)", more than half of Chinese adults are currently overweight or obese, with an overweight rate of 34.

The ever-increasing obesity rate deserves the vigilance of individual residents and social institutions

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For a long time, the treatment effect of liver cancer is not very satisfactory, especially in the middle and advanced stage of liver cancer, the cure rate is lower

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