CNN: Liver cancer death rate in US surged 43% in 16 years

This week the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics released a report outlining the fact that death rates from liver cancer had increased 43% for American adults from 2000 to 2016 (even as mortality for all cancers combined had declined). Liver cancer death rates increased for men and women 25 and older in white, black and Hispanic people while Asians and Pacific Islanders saw a decrease in mortality from the disease.

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The report also looked at mortality by race and state finding: ¹

• white adults had the lowest death rate from liver cancer of any racial group throughout the 16 years analyzed
• nonwhite individuals are more likely to receive inadequate or unequal access to care, which might account for their overall increased mortality from liver cancer
• that mortality decreased in the Asians and Pacific Islanders populations might be due to increased vigilance and screening for these races since the incidence of liver cancer is known to be higher in these populations
• Washington, D.C., had the highest liver cancer death rate in 2016, while Vermont had the lowest
• and the differences in mortality among states was fairly small; there are 10.8 more people per 100,000 who die from liver cancer in Washington, D.C., than in Vermont.

According to Dr. Jiaquan Xu, author of the report, the rise in mortality is due to more people developing liver cancer. A belief echoed by Dr. Farhad Islami, who also authored a study on liver cancer occurrence between 1990 and 2014. He said, “I think the main reason for the increase in liver cancer incidence and death rate in the US is the increase in the prevalence of excess body weight and hepatitis C virus infection in baby boomers.”¹ Since years often go by before someone living with hepatitis C develops liver cancer, that would account for the “increase in incidence of the cancer among older individuals who received blood transfusions and organs before 1992.”¹ But the opioid epidemic might also be partially to blame; Hepatitis C- spread by sharing needles- can cause liver cirrhosis which increases the risk for liver cancer.

All told, more than 70% of liver cancers are caused by underlying liver disease which has risks factors like obesity, smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and hepatitis B and C infection (until 1992, blood transfusions and organ transplants were not screened for hepatitis C).

1. CNN, July 17, 2018.