A new report from The Lancet reveals that three out of five liver cancer cases worldwide are linked to preventable risk factors, with obesity-related cases on the rise.

The analysis, published on 29th July, estimates that over 60% of liver cancers could be avoided by addressing viral hepatitis, excessive alcohol consumption, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition driven by excess fat in the liver.

The situation is particularly urgent in Africa, where liver cancer cases are projected to surge significantly by 2050.

In Nairobi, Ahmed Kalebi is the Principal Pathologist at Dr Ahmed Kalebi Labs.

“Am I worried about metabolic liver disease being a silent epidemic? I am not just worried, I know, because we see it on a daily basis. The number of cases that we pick silently when we come for health check-ups is shocking, and we actually need to do a lot more to increase awareness for people to come for screening and a change of lifestyle. If we don’t, we will be paying a huge price in the next decade to two decades, and that is why 2050 is seen as the culmination of when there will be an explosion of this liver disease associated with cancer,” he says.

Professor Hashem El-Serag believes cases of Hepatitis B and C are causing the increased liver cancer rates in Africa, and that screening and vaccination in the region are lagging behind the rest of the world.

However, he stresses obesity—as the continent becomes increasingly ‘westernized’—is also a major factor.

“Africa is also not immune to the obesity epidemic. With the progressive westernization of their lifestyle and their diets. So, they might be hit with multiple risk factors. A leftover from the old risk factors that really are not moving fast enough. And the emergence of the new risk factors that are happening as a result of globalization,” he says.

Additional measures include public awareness campaigns, improved early detection, and better integration of palliative care for patients.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.