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Liver cancer recurrence higher for patients with diabetes and/or obesity

CANCER DIGEST – Oct. 12, 2024 – The risk of recurrence of a type of liver cancer is significantly higher among patients with diabetes or who are obese, a new study shows.


The study led by Dr. Hiroji Shinkawa, of Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine in Osaka, Japan, involved follow-up monitoring of 1,644 patients who had sections of their liver removed due to hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer associated with hepatitis. It is known that this type of cancer has a high recurrence rate, and while a link to obesity and diabetes and this type of liver cancer has been observed, their effects on survival outcomes were unclear.


Patients were categorized into four groups based on combinations of diabetes and obesity and followed for five years. Results showed that after two years patients with obesity were 1.5 times more likely to have their cancer recur, and the risk of recurrence in patients with diabetes was 1.3 times higher compared to patients without those conditions.


After five years, the risk of cancer recurrence was 3.8 times higher for obese patients and 2 times higher for those with diabetes. The findings were published Aug. 20, 2024 in the journal Liver Cancer.


The findings confirm other studies linking liver cancers with diabetes and obesity.


“This study is expected to contribute to the early detection of cancer recurrence and the design of appropriate treatment strategies,” Dr. Shinkawa said in a press release. “Because the risk of late recurrence is higher in hepatocellular carcinoma with comorbid obesity and diabetes, controlling obesity and diabetes is an important treatment strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma.”


Sources: Osaka Metropolitan University press release and the journal Liver Cancer

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