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According to an international study, led by researchers at the University of California School of Medicine, the causes of liver cancer are changing. This is the case for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, which is on the way to becoming one of the main risk factors. An upheaval that particularly resonates on this International NASH Day.
The main causes of liver cancer are well known: viral hepatitis, in particular hepatitis B and C, alcohol and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH in English, due to an accumulation of fat in the liver (sometimes referred to as fatty liver disease), with the consequence of causing inflammation and chronic lesions, which can lead to cirrhosis.
However, according to the results of a study conducted by an international team of researchers, and led by American scientists from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, the etiology of this disease is changing. .
Both positive and negative changes
Thanks to their work, published on June 3 in the journal Cell Metabolismthe authors provide both a positive and negative assessment of the causes involved in the risk of developing liver cancer.
In fact, vaccination against hepatitis, including hepatitis B, has progressed, at the same time reducing the incidence linked to this risk factor. On the other hand, alcohol consumption and obesity have increased very significantly. The reason is largely due to the increase in sedentary lifestyles and diet.
Third leading cause of cancer death worldwide
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with 830,000 deaths in 2020 attributed to it. With this international study, researchers sought to measure the impact of liver cancer, involving more than 3,600 scientists from 145 countries.
Result: there was a 27% increase in cases of liver cancer and a 25% increase in deaths, between 2010 and 2019.
Regional disparities exist
But not all regions of the world are affected in the same way. In 2019, Asia, with countries such as China, Japan, Thailand and Mongolia, had the highest liver cancer death rates while Africa as a whole had the highest scores. lower.
In the Americas, the cause of death from liver cancer is the fastest growing compared to the rest of the world, due to the rapid increase in obesity rates. The prevalence has increased from 30.5% in 2000 to 42.4% in 2017. And these figures are expected to increase further over the next ten years, due to the epidemic of obesity that is raging across the Atlantic.
The scourge of alcohol
However, NASH alone cannot explain this increase. Alcohol also plays an increasingly prominent role in this development.
“The impact of these changes on the global burden of liver cancer is not yet clear, said the study’s lead author, US hepatologist and professor Rohit Loomba. In California, and particularly in San Diego, cirrhosis is on the rise and is a major cause of liver cancer.”