thanbey

I have to admit to you that I am dleighted to see research being done on this that is both cutting edge and has real substance for those living with hepatitis C.

You can read the abstract and my comments on this study by going to the blog at the website below my name.

In essence, the study done at the Univeristy of Michigan found that smoking, alcohol consumption and weight make a huge difference when it comes to liver cancer risk vs for those who have cirrhosis or those who are healthy people who haven't done much smoking, drinking and who have maintained a normal weight.

The researchers controlled for wild cards, such as hepatitis C and diabetes, only to find that those factors are less risky overall (when they are the only risk factor) than smoking, drinking or overweight, particulalry when these are found together. In other words, the combined risk for these choices put someone in a risk bracket of about 70% if the use was heavy over a lifespan.

Discontinuing the behaviors (after 6 months for smoking and alcohol consumption) reduced the risk greatly. Being overweight and smoking or drinking was a huge risk for liver cancer, whether or not you had diabetes or whether or not you have hepatitis C.

This is an amazing first step to finding out what, exactly, the factors are that lead both to cirrhosis of the liver, and progression to liver cancer.

I am interested in your thoughts.

thanbey