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Increase in mortality rates from
intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in England and Wales 2001;
48:816-20
5/22/01 1:11 a.m.
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 16 MAY 2001 AT
19:00 ET US Contact: BMA Press Office pressoffice@bma.org.uk
44-20-7383-6254 BMJ Specialty Journals
Doubling of deaths from liver cancer in
last 30 years
Increase in mortality rates from
intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in England and Wales 2001;
48:816-20
Deaths from liver cancer have almost
doubled in the past 30 years, shows research in Gut. A
relatively rare type of liver cancer arising from the bile
ducts-intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma-accounts for virtually
all of the increase.
The research team analysed deaths coded
by liver tumour between 1968 and 1998, using national
statistics for England and Wales. The information was assessed
against expected death rates for a given age group per 100,
000 of the population.
Deaths from all types of liver tumour
steadily increased over the period in both men and women, but
the sharpest increase was seen in deaths from intrahepatic
cholangiocarcinoma. In 1996 deaths from this tumour were 15
times higher than they were in 1968 in people aged 45 and
older, rising from 38 to 736. By 1998, the totals had reached
864, with the sharpest rises seen among women. Intrahepatic
cholangiocarcinoma is now the commonest cause of death from
liver cancer in England and Wales, and has been since 1993.
The reasons for the increase are not
immediately obvious, say the authors. Better diagnosis or
diagnostic misclassification may be partially responsible, but
they suggest that these factors are unlikely to account fully
for the figures. Thorotrast, a now banned substance that used
to be used in radiology, smoking and alcohol, and an increase
in environmental oestrogen have all been linked to this type
of tumour. But, say the authors, an increase in other
environmental toxins may also have a role in the development
of bile duct tumours.
### Contact:
Dr Simon Taylor-Robinson, Liver Unit,
Imperial College School of Medicine, London. s.taylor-robinson@ic.ac.uk
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