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Published on: March 24, 2023
Tumor Incidence in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Yvonne Huber1, Christian Labenz, Maurice Michel
1Department of Medicine I, University Medical Center MainzMetabolic Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine I, University Medical Center MainzEpidemiology, IQVIA, Frankfurt.
Background:
The incidence of cancer is increasing worldwide. The role of comorbidities in this development is debated. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) for the incidence of cancer of various kinds in Germany.
Methods:
Between 2000 and 2015, data on 31 587 patients with established NAFLD were collected for analysis. A control group (n = 31 587) assembled for comparison was matched for sex, age, treating physician, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).
Results:
By 10 years after the index date, 15.3% of patients with NAFLD and 13.4% of patients in the control group had been diagnosed with cancer (p <0.001). Patients with NAFLD exhibited significantly higher rates of male genital cancers (HR 1.26; 95% confidence interval [1.06; 1.5]; p = 0.008), skin cancer (HR 1.22 [1.07; 1.38]; p = 0.002) and breast cancer (HR 1.2 [1.01; 1.43]; p = 0.036). In this analysis, the rate of hepatocellular carcinoma did not differ between patients with NAFLD and patients without NAFLD (0.19% vs. 0.12%; p = 0.204).
Conclusion:
NAFLD slightly increases the risk of breast cancer in women, genital cancer in men, and skin cancer irrespective of sex. Thus, NAFLD can be considered a marker of increased cancer risk.
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