Rising incidence of fatty liver disease increases new liver cancer diagnoses
An underlying liver disease can be found in 85% of patients with a new diagnosis of liver cancer. Due to the increasing incidence of fatty liver disease, the number of liver cancer diagnoses could increase by up to 50% by 2040. Affected people with advanced liver disease should be included in early detection programs. This is the advice of experts at MedUni Vienna's Clinical Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology to mark the international 'Liver Cancer Awareness Month' October. In 2020, just under one million people were newly diagnosed with liver cancer and just over 800,000 patients lost their lives to the disease worldwide. Globally, liver tumours are the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and the sixth leading cause in women 1. Studies have shown that new liver cancer diagnoses could increase by up to 50% by 2040 due to the increasing incidence of fatty liver disease ².
