"Liver Cancer Death Rate In US Surged 43 Percent In 16 Years" - Maddie Bender
Death rates from liver cancer increased 43 percent for American adults from 2000 to 2016, according to a report released Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The increase comes even as mortality for all cancers combined was declined. Throughout the 16 years analyzed, the death rate of liver cancer for men was 2 to 2.5 times higher than it was for women, according to the report. “There’s a longstanding recognition that men have a greater risk of liver cancer than women,” said Scott L. Friedman, MD, dean for therapeutic discovery and chief of the division of liver disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, although the reasons aren’t clear. The report also looked at differences in liver cancer mortality among US states. Washington, D.C., had the highest liver cancer death rate in 2016, while Vermont had the lowest. Dr. Friedman said this could be accounted for by differences among states in preventative screening and in treatment in underlying disease, such as hepatitis C.
- Scott L. Friedman, MD, Dean, Therapeutic Discovery, Fishberg Professor, Medicine, Professor, Liver Diseases, Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chief, Liver Diseases, The Mount Sinai Health System