JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Recent data suggests that Mississippians are dying from liver cancer at alarming rates.
According to research cited by the American Association for Cancer Research , the incidence of liver cancer increased by 75% worldwide between 1990 and 2015. It is also on the rise in Mississippi. Mississippi’s mortality rate from Liver Cancer was the 7th highest in the country from 2012-2016. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mississippi’s death rate increased to the 4th highest between 2015 to 2019. Death from liver cancer among white males in Mississippi is the second highest nationally.
Liver cancer is more common in men than women and among Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native populations.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and cirrhosis of the liver are common risk factors. HBV and HCV can spread from person to person through sharing contaminated needles (i.e., drug use), unprotected sex, or childbirth. CDC data shows that Mississippi has one of the highest infection rates of Hepatitis nationally .