— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
Having a hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and an immediate family member–especially a mother–with liver cancer significant increases one's cancer risk, according to a report published in a Chinese hepatology journal.
Researchers found liver cancer rates to be 59% higher in HBV-infected individuals with a family history of liver cancer, compared to uninfected individuals with no family history of cancer.
Chinese researchers followed 708 HBV-infected patients and 730 uninfected individuals in Qidong City to see how much a hepatitis B infection and/or having a family member with liver cancer increased participants' cancer risk.
Researchers regularly assessed participants' liver health and screened them for cancer twice a year over the 20-year study.
The incidence of liver cancer in those with HBV infection and liver cancer in their immediate family was 1,244 per 100,000 person years. In contrast, the incidence was 509 per 100,000 person years in individuals (infected and uninfected) without a family history of liver cancer.
Liver cancer rates remained high, but did not vary significantly if an individual had a sibling versus a father with cancer. However, having a mother with liver cancer further increased cancer risk in HBV-infected individuals.
Among participants with a family history of liver cancer, 56.52% were diagnosed with cancer before age 50.
At the end of the 20-year study, cancer rates were:
32.21% for those with hepatitis B and a family history of cancer
19.80% for those with hepatitis B but no family history of cancer
1.71% for those with a family cancer history but no hepatitis B infection
And 0.65% for those with neither a hepatitis B infection nor a family history of liver cancer.
Labels: cancer risk, family cancer risk
