Increase In Liver Cancer Cases
An excerpt from the report released by the Iowa State Health Registry is provided below, full press release available here
The report, based on data from the Iowa Cancer Registry and the Iowa Department of Public Health, is available online in the “Publications” section on the registry’s website or by calling the registry at 319-335-8609. The report includes county-by-county statistics, summaries of new research projects, and a special section focused on liver cancer.
Liver cancer is the 13th leading cause of cancer deaths in Iowa. However, unlike most other common cancers, both new cases of and deaths from liver cancer are on the rise in Iowa and throughout the U.S.
The rate of new liver cancer cases in Iowa has roughly tripled over the past 35 years, from two cases per 100,000 people in 1975 to 1979 to six cases per 100,000 in 2010 to 2014.
Michael Voigt, clinical professor of internal medicine and a specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, says that chronic infections of hepatitis B or hepatitis C are the major risk factors for liver cancer, and these infections are correlated with the increase in the number of cases.
“Liver cancer is predominantly due to hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection, and chronic viral hepatitis ultimately causes more deaths than breast cancer, heart failure, or prostate cancer,” Voigt says. “Deaths from hepatitis C are at an all-time high, and the number of cases in people under 30 years of age is increasing dramatically in Iowa.”
However, Voigt notes that because there is a vaccination for hepatitis B and effective treatment of both hepatitis B and C, liver cancer is highly preventable. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone born between 1945 and 1965 be tested for hepatitis C,” he says. “It is a silent killer, and the majority of people with hepatitis C are unaware of it.”
Though most cases of liver cancer prove to be fatal, national data show that in recent years deaths have been increasing slower than new cases. Iowa data shows a similar trend but has lower rates overall, possibly due to earlier detection and improvements in treatment of chronic hepatitis.
George Weiner, director of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa, says that researchers consider the disease from all angles in order to reduce the number of cancer deaths.
“Cancer prevention, early detection, and therapy are all important as we seek to reduce the burden of cancer, including liver cancer,” Weiner says. “We are continuing to make progress through research in all of these areas.”
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