Metabolic Syndrome and Risk of Liver Cancer

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Metabolic syndrome is a name for a group of risk factors that occur together and increase the risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

A new study, presented by Katherine McGlynn (NIH) at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting, linked metabolic syndrome to an increased risk of liver cancer.

Someone with metabolic syndrome has at least three of the following five conditions:

- Raised Blood Pressure,

- Elevated Waist Circumference,

- Low HDL or “Good” Cholesterol,

- Raised Triglyceride Levels and

- Raised Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels.

People with this condition are known to have an increased risk of heart disease, but the current study, which analyzed more than 4,000 people with liver cancer and compared them to nearly 200,000 people without cancer, found that people with metabolic syndrome were even more likely to develop liver cancer.

The study found that 37.1 percent of people with a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma had metabolic syndrome, while only 17.1 percent of those without liver cancer had metabolic syndrome. Nearly 30 percent of people with another type of liver cancer called intrahepatic carcinoma had metabolic syndrome.

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by The Zestzfulness Team) from materials provided by the American Association for Cancer Research.

More information

Learn more about steps you can take to help prevent cancer from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

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