Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease have a 17-fold increased risk of liver cancer, a study published in Hepatology found.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the deposition of fat in the liver in people who do not abuse alcohol. This condition can progress to chronic steatohepatitis (inflammation of the liver against the background of its obesity) and lead first to fibrosis, and then to cirrhosis of the liver.
About 25% of the world's adult population suffers from NAFLD. In Russia in 2014, it was detected in 37.1% of adults, which is 10% more than in 2007. Among the formidable complications of the disease are cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure and liver cancer. However, the most common cause of death in patients with NAFLD is cardiovascular disease.
In a new study, scientists from the Karolinska Institute and Columbia University analyzed data from nearly 40,000 people who were followed from 1966 to 2016. During this period, histologically confirmed NAFLD was found in almost 9 thousand of them.
Symptoms of NAFLD
In the early stages of the disease, NAFLD is asymptomatic. This diagnosis may be a «find» during examination for other reasons.
Possible symptoms of the disease in the later stages include:
- dull pain in the right hypochondrium;
- severe weakness;
- unexpected weight loss.< /li>
If cirrhosis has joined the disease, then fluid (ascites) may accumulate in the abdominal cavity, a subcutaneous vascular pattern appears, the palms may become red, and the skin may turn yellow.
Sources : NHS, Mayo.
A study has shown that NAFLD increases the risk of any type of cancer by 27%. Most of the risk is from liver cancer, with a 17 times greater chance of developing it compared to people who do not have NAFLD. This risk begins to increase already in the early stages of the disease.
NAFLD has also been associated with a small increase in the risk of pancreatic, kidney, bladder, and melanoma cancers, but not other cancers.
“These data should be used to develop more targeted interventions to reduce the risk of cancer in patients with NAFLD,” said Professor Jonas F. Ludvigsson of the Karolinska Institute co-author research.