Hepatitis B behind increase in liver cancer cases – Dr Micah
About three out of every four liver cancer cases diagnosed in Ghana are linked to chronic hepatitis B infection, a gastroenterologist, Dr Eileen Akonobea Micah, has disclosed.
She said many of those who developed the disease were in their productive years and often reported to hospital only after the cancer had advanced, leaving them eligible mainly for palliative care, which prolonged life by only three to six months.
“These are people in the prime of their lives. Many are breadwinners whose deaths leave devastating emotional and economic consequences for their families and the nation,” Dr Micah said.
She recounted the recent case of two brothers in their late 20s who died of liver cancer three months apart, while two of their other siblings were living with hepatitis B and receiving treatment.
Dr Micah, who is also President of the Ghana Association for the Study of Liver and Digestive Diseases (GASLIDD), was speaking to The Ghanaian Times on the sidelines of the commemoration of World Hepatitis Day in Accra on Tuesday.
World Hepatitis Day, observed annually on July 28, seeks to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, one of the leading causes of liver cancer and liver-related deaths globally.
This year’s theme: ‘Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,’ calls on countries to remove barriers preventing people from accessing life-saving hepatitis prevention, testing and treatment services.
According to Dr Micah, Ghana has one of the highest rates of liver cancer in Africa.
She cited data from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) 2024, which shows that liver cancer is the second most common cancer among men in Ghana, after prostate cancer, and the fourth most common among women.
She said the situation underscored the need for intensified screening and early treatment.
Dr Micah called for the decentralisation of hepatitis B treatment, similar to the model adopted for hepatitis C, to improve access to care.
She said that would help Ghana move towards the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of treating at least 80 per cent of eligible hepatitis patients by 2030.
She also urged the public to know their hepatitis B status through regular screening, warning that the infection often presented no symptoms until severe liver damage had occurred.
“Early diagnosis and treatment remain the most effective means of preventing liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and premature deaths associated with hepatitis B,” she advised.
Viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
There are five main types of viral hepatitis — A, B, C, D and E — with hepatitis B and C accounting for the majority of chronic infections.
Common symptoms include fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, dark urine, pale-coloured stools, joint pain and jaundice. However, many infected people may not develop symptoms until the disease has advanced.
Viral hepatitis is commonly transmitted through contact with infected blood or other body fluids. Safe and effective vaccines are available to prevent hepatitis A and B.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
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