Modern lifestyles – with too much alcohol and obesity – have contributed to a massive increase in the number of cases of liver cancer in Britain, it was reported today.
Some 3,108 cases of primary liver cancer were diagnosed in 2006 – compared with 865 in 1975.
<!Primary liver cancer is when the disease begins in the liver.>
According to Cancer Research UK, three factors have contributed to the increase: alcohol, obesity and the virus hepatitis C.
The organisation says the increasing in cases is likely to continue – as it can take decades for cancer to develop, especially after infection with hepatitis C.
The organisation’s Dr Lesley Walker said: "While this increase is a concern, it is important for people to understand how their risk of liver cancer can be reduced by changes to lifestyle.
"Cutting down on alcohol and watching your weight will help to reduce the risk of a wide range of cancers including primary liver cancer. Taking plenty of exercise and eating a balanced diet high in fibre, fruit and vegetables and low in fatty foods, red and processed meat can all help towards keeping a healthy weight."
Professor Matt Seymour, an expert at Leeds University, said: "Three main risk factors for liver cirrhosis, alcohol, obesity and hepatitis C infection, are getting more common in the UK. So we are seeing more patients with cirrhosis and, in turn, more patients with primary liver cancer.
"This is likely to continue. There is a long delay between exposure to the risk factors and the onset of cancer. It might take between 20 and 40 years for liver cancer to develop after infection with hepatitis C.
"So even if new cases of infection stopped, the number of cases of cancer would continue to rise for some years."
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