Campaign Reply: Liver Disease and Liver Cancer

Liver disease is currently the second biggest cause of premature mortality and lost working years of life in England and Wales. There was an increase in alcohol-related deaths during the pandemic, exacerbating the significant rise in deaths from liver disease over the past 50 years.

Likewise, I am concerned that liver cancer has the second fastest increase in incidence of any cancer in the UK and has shown the fastest increase in mortality rates over the past decade of any cancer for men and women.

Improving diagnosis of liver disease appears to be crucial to improving outcomes for liver cancer and helping patients to access early surveillance.  Patients diagnosed with liver cancer in stage 1 have significantly better survival rates compared to those diagnosed at the latest stage (78 per cent vs 20 per cent).  

The Government’s expansion of community diagnostic centres will support earlier diagnosis and improve health outcomes. In addition, the NHS Health Check for 40 to 74 year olds also aims to identify people at risk of liver disease and refer them for further treatment and investigation. I recognise the urgency of the British Liver Trust's campaign to ensure that as many community diagnostic centres as possible have access to FibroScan testing.

Community Liver Health Checks are being funded in 12 areas to identify patients with liver disease earlier, with liver disease being the biggest risk factor of HCC. These pilots will ensure that more people at high risk of HCC are offered and receive six monthly liver surveillance by ultrasound.

More can, and will, be done to tackle liver disease, and I will continue to monitor this issue closely.