A recent study has found that high body mass index (BMI), increased waist circumference, and type 2 diabetes mellitus may increase the risk of liver cancer. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute in the US and the American Cancer Society, studied whether obesity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with liver cancer risk.
The team put in data derived from 1.57 million adults enrolled in 14 different US-based prospective studies. The participants were given questionnaires related to their height, weight, alcohol intake, tobacco use and other factors, and none of them had cancer at enrollment. The team saw that for every five kg/m2 increase in BMI, there was a 38 and 25 per cent increase in the risk for liver cancer in men and women, respectively. The increase in risk was eight per cent for every five cm increase in waist circumference.
Also known as Hepatic Cancer, Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers. Of the different types, the most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma, which begins in the main type of liver cell. While the exact cause of the disease is unknown, most cases are cited to either hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or alcohol.
Very difficult to detect this type of cancer in the early stage, there are however, several red flags that can help a on-time diagnosis:
- Upper Abdominal pain
- Swelling of the Abdomen
- Lump/Pain in the right side below the rib cage
- Unexplained weight loss
- Jaundice
- Loss of Appetite
- Fatigue
- Back Pain
