Death rates from liver cancer in the United States increased 43 percent from 2000 to 2016, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What should radiologists take away from this finding?
Liver cancer was ranked as the ninth leading cause of cancer death in 2000, but it climbed to the sixth on that list in 2016. Rates actually decreased 22 percent for non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander adults, but jumped by 49 percent for non-Hispanic white adults, 43 percent for non-Hispanic black adults and 27 percent for Hispanic adults.
The CDC also found that Washington, D.C., had the highest death rate from liver cancer among all states, and Vermont had the lowest.
For radiologists, these numbers highlight the continued importance of liver cancer screening and the proper reporting of any detected findings. Liver Reporting & Data System, or LI-RADS, was launched by the American College of Radiology (ACR) to standardize imaging findings for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in 2011. In 2017, research from Flusberg et al. found that structured LI-RADS reporting can lead to “more comprehensive and consistent reporting of major HCC features” and potential result in cost savings.
Later that year, the ACR announced the latest LI-RADS upgrade.
“The new version of LI-RADS highlights technique, interpretation, reporting and data collection for screening and surveillance in patients the need for detecting liver cancer early, when it is potentially curable, by screening at-risk patients,” Claude B. Sirlin, MD, chair of the ACR Committee on LI-RADS, said in a prepared statement. “We continually strive to improve LI-RADS to enhance communication with referring clinicians, speed accurate diagnosis and improve patient care.”
More information on LI-RADS can be located on the ACR’s website
Additional Radiology Business coverage of recent potential breakthroughs in liver cancer treatment can be read here, here and here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.