|
The American Cancer Society most recent estimates for primary
liver cancer and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in the U.S. are for
2009:
- about 22, 620 new cases (16,410 in men and 6,210 in women)
will be diagnosed
- about 18,160 people (12,090 men and 6,070 women) will die
of these cancers
The percentage of Americans developing liver cancer had been
increasing in the second half of the 20th century, but the rate seems
to have been stable in recent years. The actual number of cases has
gone up, but this is in part because the population is increasing.
Liver cancer is more common in men than in women, although it
is still fairly rare in the United States in both groups. An average
man's lifetime risk of getting liver or intrahepatic bile duct cancer
is about 1 in 100, while an average woman's risk is about 1 in 217.
Most cases occur in people with certain risk factors (see the section, "What
are the risk factors for liver cancer?").
The average age at diagnosis of liver cancer is 64. More than
90% of people diagnosed with liver cancer are older than 45 years of
age. About 4% are between 35 and 44 years of age and less than 3% are
younger than 35.
This cancer is many times more common in countries in sub-Saharan
Africa and Southeast Asia than in the United States. In many of these
countries it is the most common type of cancer. More than 500,000
people are diagnosed with this cancer each year throughout the world.
Last Medical Review: 11/05/2009
Last Revised: 11/05/2009
|
