Hepatitis B drives rise in liver cancer cases in Ghana, doctor says

About three out of every four liver cancer cases diagnosed in Ghana are linked to chronic hepatitis B, according to gastroenterologist Dr Eileen Akonobea Micah. Many of the patients are still in their productive years when they develop the disease.

Micah said patients often reach hospitals only after the cancer has advanced. At that stage, they may qualify mainly for palliative care, which can prolong life by only three to six months. She recalled two brothers in their late 20s who died of liver cancer three months apart, while two other siblings were living with hepatitis B and receiving treatment.

“Early diagnosis and treatment remain the most effective means of preventing liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and premature deaths associated with hepatitis B,” Micah said. She urged people to learn their hepatitis B status through regular screening because the infection can cause no symptoms until severe liver damage has developed.

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These are people in the prime of their lives. Many are breadwinners whose deaths leave devastating emotional and economic consequences for their families and the nation.

Micah, who heads the Ghana Association for the Study of Liver and Digestive Diseases, spoke to the Ghanaian Times in Accra during events marking World Hepatitis Day. This year's theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” calls for countries to remove barriers to prevention, testing and treatment.

She said Ghana has one of Africa's highest liver cancer rates. GLOBOCAN 2024 data cited by Micah ranks liver cancer as the country's second most common cancer among men, after prostate cancer, and fourth among women. She called for hepatitis B treatment to be decentralized, following the model used for hepatitis C, to improve access and support the World Health Organization's target of treating at least 80% of eligible hepatitis patients by 2030.

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Early diagnosis and treatment remain the most effective means of preventing liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and premature deaths associated with hepatitis B.