- Obesity and diabetes increase liver cancer recurrence after surgery
- Recurrence risk is higher five years post-surgery in obese patients
- Controlling diabetes and obesity is crucial for better liver cancer outcomes
A new study has found that having diabetes and obesity increases the risk of a type of liver cancer coming back and worsens survival following surgery for the disease.
Hepatocellular carcinoma is a type of liver cancer associated with hepatitis infections, with a high recurrence rate following cancer removal.
The number of people affected has reduced in recent years thanks to advances in antiviral therapy.
Obesity and diabetes are factors in the prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma but less is known about how these factors influence survival rates and cancer recurrence.
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Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Medicine explored the interaction between diabetes, obesity, and post-surgery outcomes in just over 1,644 people with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection.
They found that for comorbid obesity, there was a 1.5 times greater risk of recurrence after two years post-surgery. For diabetes, the risk of recurrence was 1.3 times higher.
At five years post-surgery, the risk of recurrence was 3.8 times higher for comorbid obesity and two times higher for comorbid diabetes alone.
The authors concluded: “Obesity and diabetes coexistence increased late recurrence and worsened prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing hepatic resection.
“The results help surgeons develop possible different surveillance protocol and need to focus on diabetes/obesity control during life-long surveillance for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.”
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Dr Hiroji Shinkawa, who led the research, explained: “This study is expected to contribute to the early detection of cancer recurrence and the design of appropriate treatment strategies.
“Because the risk of late recurrence is higher in hepatocellular carcinoma with comorbid obesity and diabetes, controlling obesity and diabetes is an important treatment strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma.”
Read more in the journal Liver Cancer.
