Haemochromatosis mutation raises liver cancer risk 10-fold, study finds
While men have an increased risk of malignancy and mortality, women do not, researchers find
Men with haemochromatosis gene homozygosity are more than 10 times as likely to get liver cancer than those without the gene variant, a study of UK Biobank data suggests.
Researchers have projected that 7.2% of men with homozygous sets of the main HFE genetic variant p.C282Y will develop primary hepatic carcinomas by age 75, compared with 0.6% risk for men without a pathogenic variant.
This was despite the effects of haemochromatosis that contributed to liver cancer being “easily managed” with phlebotomy, the researchers wrote in JAMA.
“If started before irreversible end organ damage, treatment can regress liver fibrosis and reduce risks of cancer,” they said.
