Increased Cancers with Fatty Liver Disease

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Z Wang et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2021; 19: 788-796. Associations Between Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Cancers in a Large Cohort in China

It is well-recognized that obesity/overweight increases the risk of cancer (related blog post: Cancer due to Overweight/Obesity). Wang et al provide data regarding cancer risk due specifically to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) from a large prospective adult cohort (n=54,187). Key findings:

  • Prevalence of NAFLD, based on ultrasonography, was 32.3%.
  • NAFLD was associated with increased risk of all cancers (hazard ratio [HR], 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10–1.36; P = .0001), thyroid cancer (HR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.25–6.21; P = .01), and lung cancer (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.02–1.49; P = .03).
  • Increased risk for colorectal cancer (HR, 1.96) and lung cancer (HR, 1.38) was demonstrated only in smokers.  An association between NAFLD and kidney cancer (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.03–2.40) was only observed in men without diabetes.
  • Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma was increased only in those with elevated ALT values of 80 U/L or more (HR 8.08)

My take: This study shows that NAFLD increases the risk of cancer; much of this risk may be due to obesity/metabolic syndrome and associated chronic inflammation. Overall, cardiovascular disease in patients with NAFLD represents a higher risk for morbidity and mortality.

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