A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the Journal of Hepatology, suggests that close relatives of people with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD) are at an elevated risk of developing liver cancer and other advanced liver diseases.
The research underscores the need for early intervention and lifestyle advice for not only the patients but also their close family members.
MASLD: The Rising Cause of Liver Cancer
Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, formerly known as NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease), has emerged as a principal factor behind the surging rates of liver cancer.
Patients with MASLD are already known to be at a heightened risk for liver cancer and liver-related deaths.
Implications for Family Members
The study’s first author, Dr. Fahim Ebrahimi, highlighted that these findings should change the way we approach MASLD. “Patients with MASLD should not be treated separately,” he stated.
“Recommendations for lifestyle changes should be given to their family members as well.”
The research team relied on the ESPRESSO cohort, containing liver biopsy data from 1965 to the present in Sweden.
After identifying almost 12,000 individuals with MASLD, they compared each patient with up to five individuals from the general population and identified first-degree relatives and partners. Nearly 250,000 first-degree relatives and 57,000 partners were included in the study.
With an average follow-up duration of 17.6 years (some up to 50 years), the researchers discovered that first-degree relatives of MASLD patients had an 80% higher likelihood of developing liver cancer compared to controls.
However, the absolute risk increase was just 0.11% over 20 years. Jonas F. Ludvigsson, the study’s senior author, noted, “The absolute risk is very small but still relevant at a population level.”
The study also showed that partners of MASLD patients had a higher risk of developing severe liver conditions and dying from liver-related causes. This suggests that shared lifestyle factors are a significant contributor to the disease’s development.
Key Takeaways
Close relatives of MASLD patients also have a significantly higher risk of developing liver cancer and other advanced liver diseases.
Lifestyle recommendations and possibly early screenings for MASLD could benefit these family members.
The study underscores the importance of a comprehensive, family-inclusive approach to managing and preventing MASLD and related conditions.
Future Directions
Given the clear familial risk and lifestyle factors involved, the study could prompt a change in how medical practitioners manage MASLD by extending preventative advice and screening recommendations to family members of patients.
With liver cancer on the rise, such measures could play a critical role in risk reduction at both individual and population levels.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about simple habits that could give you a healthy liver, and common diabetes drugs that may reverse liver inflammation.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about simple blood tests that could detect your risk of fatty liver disease, and results showing this green diet may strongly lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The research findings can be found in the Journal of Hepatology.
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