Sixty per cent of liver cancer diagnoses across the globe could be avoided by tackling the key risk factors associated with the deadly disease, new findings indicate.
The Lancet Commission's latest research has identified viral hepatitis, alcohol intake and metabolic liver conditions linked to obesity as the primary preventable causes.
Without immediate intervention, annual diagnoses could surge from 870,000 currently to 1.52 million by 2050 - just 25 years away.
As it stands, obesity-related liver disease cases are currently climbing most rapidly across the United States, Europe and Asia, the study revealed.
A severe form of fatty liver disease is set to rise by 35 per cent by 2050
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The commission has warned that cases attributed to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which is a severe form of fatty liver disease, will rise by 35 per cent from eight to 11 per cent of all liver cancer diagnoses by 2050.
The research has subsequently identified this form as the most rapidly expanding cause of liver cancer worldwide, outpacing alcohol-related cases in its growth trajectory.
Currently, liver cancer ranks as the sixth most prevalent cancer globally and causes the third highest number of cancer-related deaths, claiming over 700,000 lives each year.
Mortality figures are expected to climb from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million by 2050, driven primarily by population expansion and demographic ageing, with Africa anticipated to experience the steepest increases.
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Prof Jian Zhou, who chairs the Commission at Fudan University in China, said: "Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5 per cent to 30 per cent.
"We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend."
Weighing in on the matter, Prof Stephen Chan from the Chinese University of Hong Kong added: "As three in five cases of liver cancer are linked to preventable risk factors, mostly viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity, there is a huge opportunity for countries to target these risk factors, prevent cases of liver cancer and save lives."
Meanwhile, Prof Hashem B El-Serag from Baylor College of Medicine in the US said: "Liver cancer was once thought to occur mainly in patients with viral hepatitis or alcohol-related liver disease.
"However, today rising rates of obesity are an increasing risk factor for liver cancer, primarily due to the increase in cases of excess fat around the liver."
High alcohol consumption is considered a risk factor for the cancer
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He advocated incorporating screening for liver damage into standard healthcare for at-risk individuals, including those with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions.
In addition, the Commission has proposed that achieving a two to five per cent yearly decrease in new diagnoses could avert between nine and 17 million cases while saving eight to fifteen million lives by 2050.
Their recommendations have also involved expanding hepatitis B vaccination coverage, implementing minimum pricing for alcohol units, and establishing warning labels on alcoholic products.
Enhanced public awareness campaigns and early detection programmes targeting high-risk populations would be particularly beneficial, the experts declared.