Young, Hepatitis B Patients Who Smoke Are at Higher Risk of Liver Cancer

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Young, Hepatitis B Patients Who Smoke Are at Higher Risk of Liver Cancer

Most cases of liver cancer are found in people infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) when they are older than age 40 (in men) or 50 (in women.) However, a new study of Asian-Americans suggests that younger people under age 40 may be at increased risk of “early onset” liver cancer if they smoke and have a family history of liver cancer.

This finding may be a wake-up call to doctors to screen younger patients who smoke more often for liver cancer. Current medical guidelines recommend frequent liver cancer screening for older patients—not men under age 40 or women under age 50.

New York researchers examined liver cancer in HBV-infected Asian-Americans of all ages to see what increased the risk of “early onset” liver cancer.

They collected data on all Asian immigrants with hepatitis B treated at Bellevue Hospital Center between 2003 and 2009. They found 168 cases of liver cancer, with 74% found in older patients and 26% in younger patients—men under 40 and women under 50.

Each age group was compared with similarly-aged hepatitis B patients who were cancer-free. They found male gender and the presence of cirrhosis (severe scarring of the liver from the infection), increased the risk of liver cancer in older patients.

When younger liver cancer patients were compared with younger cancer-free patients with hepatitis B, researchers found that a family history of liver cancer and smoking increased liver cancer rates.

Surprisingly, cirrhosis did not lead to cancer in this younger group, as it did among the older patients, according to the report published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

The study suggests that younger Asian HBV patients who smoke or have a family history of liver cancer are at higher risk of cancer and should be screened more frequently for liver cancer regardless of their young age.

HBV Journal Review 2011