A recent study published in The Lancet warns that liver cancer cases worldwide could nearly double by 2050 if current trends continue. New cases may rise from 870,000 to 1.52 million annually, with projected deaths reaching 1.37 million. Liver cancer is now the third deadliest cancer globally.
The study highlights preventable causes such as alcohol use, viral hepatitis (B & C), and Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a liver condition linked to obesity.
Experts say that 60% of liver cancer cases could be avoided through early prevention and better public health strategies. The report was released on World Hepatitis Day and urges global action to reduce risk factors and improve awareness.
Vaccination at birth is the best way to prevent hepatitis B, but vaccine coverage remains low in poorer countries including in sub-Saharan Africa, the study said.
Unless vaccination rates are increased, hepatitis B is expected to kill 17 million people between 2015 and 2030, it added.
Alcohol consumption is estimated to cause more than 21 percent of all cases of liver cancer by 2050, up more than two percentage points from 2022.
Cancer due to obesity-linked fat in livers will rise to 11 percent, also up more than two percentage points, the researchers calculated.
The large-scale study, which reviewed the available evidence on the subject, underscored "the urgent need for global action" on liver cancer, the authors said.
The experts called for more public awareness about the preventable danger of liver cancer, particularly by warning people with obesity or diabetes about fatty-liver disease in the United States, Europe and Asia.
(With inputs from AFP)
