Liver cancer: increased risks for people with hemochromatosis

A new scientific study, published in the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), claims that people with hemochromatosis are ten times more likely to develop liver cancer.

Hemochromatosis is a genetic disease characterized by overabsorption of iron in the body. Indeed, following a disruption of the liver, iron is absorbed in too large a quantity and an overload will gradually build up. If this excess is not taken care of, it will damage the organs that store iron, such as the liver, pancreas, heart and bones. According to researchers at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, hemochromatosis is associated with an increased risk of liver cancer. Liver disease specialist Dr Jeremy Shearman said: “Doctors and scientists have long recognized that iron overload is an important cofactor that fuels the development of many serious diseases, including cancer.”.

The analysis covers data from nearly 3,000 men and women with hemochromatosis or with a genetic predisposition to this pathology. The participants were between 40 and 70 years old at the start of the study. The follow-up lasted about 8.9 years. Out of 1,294 men followed and affected by the disease, 21 developed liver cancer and 14 died from it. In addition, 10 of them had not been diagnosed with hemochromatosis when the liver cancer was identified. According to scientists’ calculations, 7.2% of men with hemochromatosis are likely to develop liver cancer by the age of 75, compared to 0.6% of men in the general population. The risk of death from liver cancer also increases in men affected by the genetic disease.

They wish to set up tests to detect early the disease linked to the dysfunction of a gene. Indeed, according to Inserm, hemochromatosis is the most common disease in the West, with 1 in 300 people carrying the main anomaly predisposing to the disease. Also, 85% of cases are diagnosed too late. The researchers also recommend that people who have a family member diagnosed with the disease take a blood test, even without symptoms, to in turn diagnose the disease. Indeed, the pathology is already at an advanced stage when the clinical signs appear and some are asymptomatic.