Most liver cancer cases are due to preventable risk factors, analysis suggests

Published July 29, 2025 | Originally published on MedicalXpress Breaking News-and-Events

​The majority of liver cancer cases could be prevented by reducing levels of viral hepatitis, alcohol consumption and MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease—previously called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), suggests an analysis as part of The Lancet Commission on liver cancer.

The Commission highlights several ways to reduce these risk factors, including increasing the coverage of the hepatitis B vaccine and public health policies targeting obesity and alcohol consumption.

Previous analyses have predicted that the number of new liver cancer cases will nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million in 2050, primarily due to population growth and aging populations, with the largest increases expected in Africa. The number of deaths from liver cancer is predicted to grow from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million in 2050.

Liver cancer is already a major cause of death and disability. Globally, it's the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer. More than 40% of the global liver cancer cases occur in China, mostly due to relatively high rates of hepatitis B infections in the country.

Chair of the Commission, Prof Jian Zhou, Fudan University (China) says, "Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5% to 30%. We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend."

First author, Prof Stephen Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) adds, "As three in five cases of liver cancer are linked to preventable risk factors, mostly viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity, there is a huge opportunity for countries to target these risk factors, prevent cases of liver cancer and save lives."
The majority of liver cancer cases could be prevented by reducing levels of viral hepatitis, alcohol consumption and MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease—previously called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), suggests an analysis as part of The Lancet Commission on liver cancer.

The Commission highlights several ways to reduce these risk factors, including increasing the coverage of the hepatitis B vaccine and public health policies targeting obesity and alcohol consumption.

Previous analyses have predicted that the number of new liver cancer cases will nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million in 2050, primarily due to population growth and aging populations, with the largest increases expected in Africa. The number of deaths from liver cancer is predicted to grow from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million in 2050.

Liver cancer is already a major cause of death and disability. Globally, it's the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer. More than 40% of the global liver cancer cases occur in China, mostly due to relatively high rates of hepatitis B infections in the country.

Chair of the Commission, Prof Jian Zhou, Fudan University (China) says, "Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5% to 30%. We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend."

First author, Prof Stephen Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) adds, "As three in five cases of liver cancer are linked to preventable risk factors, mostly viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity, there is a huge opportunity for countries to target these risk factors, prevent cases of liver cancer and save lives."
The majority of liver cancer cases could be prevented by reducing levels of viral hepatitis, alcohol consumption and MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease—previously called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), suggests an analysis as part of The Lancet Commission on liver cancer.

The Commission highlights several ways to reduce these risk factors, including increasing the coverage of the hepatitis B vaccine and public health policies targeting obesity and alcohol consumption.

Previous analyses have predicted that the number of new liver cancer cases will nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million in 2050, primarily due to population growth and aging populations, with the largest increases expected in Africa. The number of deaths from liver cancer is predicted to grow from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million in 2050.

Liver cancer is already a major cause of death and disability. Globally, it's the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer. More than 40% of the global liver cancer cases occur in China, mostly due to relatively high rates of hepatitis B infections in the country.

Chair of the Commission, Prof Jian Zhou, Fudan University (China) says, "Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5% to 30%. We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend."

First author, Prof Stephen Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) adds, "As three in five cases of liver cancer are linked to preventable risk factors, mostly viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity, there is a huge opportunity for countries to target these risk factors, prevent cases of liver cancer and save lives."
The majority of liver cancer cases could be prevented by reducing levels of viral hepatitis, alcohol consumption and MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease—previously called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), suggests an analysis as part of The Lancet Commission on liver cancer.

The Commission highlights several ways to reduce these risk factors, including increasing the coverage of the hepatitis B vaccine and public health policies targeting obesity and alcohol consumption.

Previous analyses have predicted that the number of new liver cancer cases will nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million in 2050, primarily due to population growth and aging populations, with the largest increases expected in Africa. The number of deaths from liver cancer is predicted to grow from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million in 2050.

Liver cancer is already a major cause of death and disability. Globally, it's the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer. More than 40% of the global liver cancer cases occur in China, mostly due to relatively high rates of hepatitis B infections in the country.

Chair of the Commission, Prof Jian Zhou, Fudan University (China) says, "Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5% to 30%. We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend."

First author, Prof Stephen Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) adds, "As three in five cases of liver cancer are linked to preventable risk factors, mostly viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity, there is a huge opportunity for countries to target these risk factors, prevent cases of liver cancer and save lives."
The majority of liver cancer cases could be prevented by reducing levels of viral hepatitis, alcohol consumption and MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease—previously called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), suggests an analysis as part of The Lancet Commission on liver cancer.

The Commission highlights several ways to reduce these risk factors, including increasing the coverage of the hepatitis B vaccine and public health policies targeting obesity and alcohol consumption.

Previous analyses have predicted that the number of new liver cancer cases will nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million in 2050, primarily due to population growth and aging populations, with the largest increases expected in Africa. The number of deaths from liver cancer is predicted to grow from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million in 2050.

Liver cancer is already a major cause of death and disability. Globally, it's the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer. More than 40% of the global liver cancer cases occur in China, mostly due to relatively high rates of hepatitis B infections in the country.

Chair of the Commission, Prof Jian Zhou, Fudan University (China) says, "Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5% to 30%. We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend."

First author, Prof Stephen Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) adds, "As three in five cases of liver cancer are linked to preventable risk factors, mostly viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity, there is a huge opportunity for countries to target these risk factors, prevent cases of liver cancer and save lives."

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