AACR: Liver Cancer Risk Rises With Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is what fat people get.

Metabolic syndrome doubled the risk of primary liver cancer in an analysis of an NCI database.

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) had a twofold greater prevalence of metabolic syndrome than a control group that did not have liver cancer.

In a multivariate analysis, metabolic syndrome remained an independent predictor of HCC and ICC (P<0.0001), according to a presentation here at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting.

"As metabolic syndrome affects more than a third of the U.S. population, it could be an important contributor to increasing rates of HCC and ICC," said Katherine A. McGlynn, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md.

"Metabolic syndrome prevalence is higher in some minority populations, suggesting that liver cancer rates in those populations may be particularly affected."

The incidence of primary liver cancer has increased in the U.S. in recent years, and HCC and ICC are the two most common types of liver cancer -- 68% and 17% of all liver cancers, respectively.

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