Patients with diabetes or obesity are more likely to have their liver cancer return after surgery, according to a team of researchers.
- Researchers analyzed data from 1,644 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection, a surgery that involves removing the tumor.
- Two years after the operation, obese patients had a risk of recurrence 1.5 times higher than others. As for diabetic patients, their risk of relapse was 1.3 times higher. The results are even more worrying in the longer term.
- “Monitoring these comorbidities in patients should be a preferred strategy to treat hepatocellular carcinoma and increase the survival rate,” according to the scientists.
Liver cancer, starting with hepatocellular carcinoma or hepatocarcinoma which represents 90% of primary cases, is a formidable disease due to its high rate of recurrence after removal of the tumor. Although recent advances in antiviral therapies have made it possible to reduce the number of patients affected, other factors, such as obesity and diabetes, continue to play a role in the progression of this pathology.
This is the conclusion of a new study, published in the journal Liver Cancerwhich highlights the link between these two conditions and the risk of liver cancer relapse after treatment.
Increased risk of recurrence of liver cancer
As part of their work, researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan, analyzed data from 1,644 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection, a surgical procedure that involves cutting, removing a part organ or tissue, in this case the tumor.
Researchers observed a significant increase in the risk of recurrence among participants with diabetes and obesity. Two years after the operation, obese patients had a risk of recurrence 1.5 times higher than others. As for diabetic patients, their risk of relapse was 1.3 times higher. But the results are even more worrying in the longer term. Five years after surgery, volunteers with obesity had a 3.8 times higher risk of recurrence, while those with diabetes saw their risk doubled.
Monitor diabetes and obesity in liver cancer patients
These figures are all the more worrying as obesity and diabetes are increasingly prevalent conditions around the world. According to one international studythe obesity rate has more than doubled among adults in 32 years, it has quadrupled among children, and more than a billion people are now obese, or one in eight. Same observation for diabetes, the prevalence of which has continued to increase since the 1990s: more than 1.3 billion people are expected to suffer from this disease by 2050, according to a another study.
“Our results contribute to improving the early detection of cancer recurrence and the design of appropriate treatment strategies,” says Dr. Hiroji Shinkawa, lead author of the study, in a press release. In other words, it becomes essential to closely monitor liver cancer patients who also suffer from obesity and diabetes. “Monitoring these comorbidities in patients should be a preferred strategy to treat hepatocellular carcinoma and improve the survival rate”he concludes.
