LIVER CANCER PREVENTION, TREATMENT EFFORTS ARE WORKING

Prevention and treatment advances are reducing the number of new liver cancer patients and narrowing survival gaps among racial groups, a Cedars-Sinai Cancer study published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology reports.

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"We found that liver cancer rates in the U.S. have begun to decline after many years of increase, and deaths from liver cancer have stabilized," said Ju Dong Yang, MD, medical director of the Liver Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai and senior author of the study.

"Younger patients and those with advanced disease are living longer, partly due to new therapies. And differences in survival rates between Black and white patients have nearly disappeared, suggesting that fairer access to care and treatment advances are helping reduce longstanding racial disparities."

Investigators looked at data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry on newly diagnosed liver cancer cases, tumor stage at diagnosis, treatment trends, and survival rates in the U.S. over the past two decades.

Despite declining liver cancer rates and improved overall survival, they found that early detection and curative treatment decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators suggest this highlights the importance of strengthening screening and care access during health care disruptions.

More information: Yi-Te Lee et al, Recent Trends of Incidence, Mortality, Treatment, and Overall Survival of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2025.10.012

Provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

This story was originally published on Medical Xpress.

2025-12-08T13:34:00Z