Prevention of Primary Liver Cancer by Immunization

Abstract

The most common form of primary liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma. The other forms of primary liver cancer, including cholangiocarcinoma, angiosarcoma, and several others, are quite rare. Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the 10 most common cancers in the world. It is particularly common among men in Southeast Asia, the western Pacific region, sub-Saharan Africa, and a number of other developing regions. Epidemiologic data from case–control and cohort studies and from laboratory investigations indicate that there is a consistent and specific causal association between infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatocellular carcinoma. Up to 80 percent of hepatocellular cancers . . .