The UK’s fastest rising cancer killer revealed as death rates DOUBLE in 20 years – the 9 signs you must never ignore

LIVER cancer has become the UK’s fastest rising cause of cancer death with obesity, smoking and boozing behind higher cases, research has found.

Cancer Research UK said the death rate has doubled in the past 20 years.

It now kills around 5,800 people per year, compared to 2,200 in the late 1990s.

Liver tumours are a relatively rare type of cancer but many cases – around half – could be prevented by healthier living.

Pamela Healy, chief executive at the British Liver Trust, said: “These stark figures highlight the urgent need for action to address the rising toll of liver cancer deaths. 

“Liver cancer is often preventable, with the majority of cases linked to an underlying liver condition. 

“It is a devastating diagnosis with sadly only 13 per cent of people surviving for five years.”

[quote credit=”Sophia Lowes” credit-meta=”Cancer Research UK”]Keeping a healthy weight, stopping smoking, and cutting back on alcohol can all make a difference[/quote]

Separate research by the BLT found that 80 per cent of areas in England do not have proper care for liver disease patients, who are at higher risk of cancer.

Cancer Research UK found that the death rate for liver cancer increased from 4.7 people per 100,000 in 1999 to 9.3 per 100,000 in 2019.

It ranks as the eight most common cause of cancer death despite only being 17th most common in terms of cases.

Scientists say bad habits are a big cause of liver cancers and about 49 per cent of cases are preventable.

They estimate one in four cases are caused by excess body fat, one in five are due to smoking and seven per cent are linked to smoking.

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Projections suggest the death rate will continue to rise, with another 10 per cent increase making it the sixth most deadly by 2040.

Meanwhile deaths are declining for most common cancers.

Sophia Lowes, of Cancer Research UK, said:  “Keeping a healthy weight, stopping smoking, and cutting back on alcohol can make all the difference in reducing your risk of cancer.

“Signs and symptoms of liver cancer include unexplained weight loss, yellowing of the skin and eyes, itching, feeling sick, or having a swollen tummy. 

“If you spot something that’s not normal for you, talk to your doctor.”

THE SYMPTOMS

Key symptoms that Cancer Research UK list are:

1. Weight loss
2. Yowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
3. Itching
4. Feeling sick
5. Swollen tummy (abdomen)
6. Loss of appetite or feeling full after eating small amounts
7. Pain in your abdomen
8. A lump in the right side of your abdomen
9. Pain in your right shoulder

It explains that symptoms vary depending on where the cancer is in the liver.

And symptoms of liver cancer “are often quite vague”.

Jaundice is a symptom most people recognise as being related to liver cancer. It is caused by a blockage in the bile duct or the liver not working properly.

A swollen tummy – unrelated to eating – might be due to the liver or blood vessels becoming larger.

Symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue, feeling sick and generally unwell are among the most common signs of all cancers – and should always be checked out.

It comes as liver cancer was ranked as ‘one of the six least survivable cancers‘ today.

According to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce (LSCT), these six cancers claim people’s lives so quickly as they are often diagnosed at later stages compared to other cancers.

 Just 42 per cent of patients in England diagnosed with brain, oesophageal, lung, liver, stomach or pancreatic cancer will live more than a year after diagnosis.

By contrast, the overall one-year survival rate for all cancers is 70 per cent.

[boxout headline=”LIVER CANCER: THE RISKS ” intro=”LIVER cancer is one of only a few common types of tumour that have increasing death rates.”][/boxout]