Liver cancer mortality for 2018 is expected to be lowest in Utah and highest in Hawaii.
A total of 30,200 deaths from liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer are predicted for the year in the United States by the American Cancer Society (ACS) in its Cancer Facts & Figures 2018, based on analysis of 2001-2015 data from the National Center for Health Statistics. That’s up from the 28,920 predicted by the ACS for 2017.
The expected number of liver cancer deaths for 2018, coupled with a current U.S. population estimate of nearly 326 million, works out to an expected death rate of 9.3 per 100,000 population. Census Bureau estimates for the state populations and the deaths projected by the ACS produce expected death rates of 4.8 per 100,000 for Utah and 12.6 for Hawaii.Mortality from liver cancer has been rising since the early 1980s, and in the last 10 years for which data are available (2006-2015), it increased by 2.5% per year. Over almost the same period (2005-2014), incidence rose by approximately 3% a year, and 42,220 new cases are expected in 2018, the ACS noted.
Over the most recent 5 years with available data (2011-2015), racial and ethnic disparities put American Indian/Alaska Natives at the highest mortality risk – 14.8 per 100,000 for men and 7.0 for women – followed by Asian/Pacific Islanders at 14.0 and 6.0, respectively. Non-Hispanic whites had the lowest rates: 8.2 for men and 3.4 for women, according to the ACS report.
Read more about the ACS’s research and estimates here.
rfranki@frontlinemedcom.com
