An ‘under the radar’ disease,
that’s more common than you think

Liver disease, is a unique spectrum of diseases that often fly under the radar in the Australian health landscape. 

However, its relatively low profile bellies the devastating impact it is having on the Australian community.

Would it surprise you to hear that 1 in 3 of us are living with some form of Liver disease?

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• Liver Cancer is developing at an unprecedented rate in the Western world

• Primary Liver cancer has increased 378% over nearly 4 decades 

• Liver cancer is the fastest growing cause of cancer-related death in Aust

• Just 19% of people diagnosed liver cancer survive beyond five years

• Men are at a much higher risk of liver cancer than women

       32 Australian men in every 100,000 develop liver cancer

       8 women in every 100,000 suffering from this disease

• The total cost of HCC was calculated to be $4.8 billion in 2019-20 

Deloitte Access Economics

Though these numbers are sobering, they highlight an important opportunity to improve public health given that most causes of liver diseases are preventable.

What causes liver disease?

A series of recent studies by the Cancer Control Group at QIMR Berghofer has shown liver cancer (the primary health burden from Liver disease) is caused by five major factors.

Obesity 25%

Smoking 21%

Hepatitis C 19%

Hepatitis B 16%

Alcohol 15%

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Increased awareness and screening will allow us to make a substantial impact given most causes of liver disease are preventable.

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  Download our Infographic to learn more >

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