Administering Hepatitis B vaccinations to infants may reduce their future risk of developing liver cancer, according to a study published in the journal Gastroenterology.
The researchers studied hepatocellular carcinoma incidence in Taiwan, a country that launched a nationwide Hepatitis B immunization program in 1984. The researchers identified 1,509 patients who were diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma between 1983 and 2011 and analyzed data on these patients' Hepatitis B immunization and prenatal maternal levels of Hepatitis B antigens.
Here's what you need to know:
1. The risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma was lower for those born in the later decades than for those born in the earlier decades. Hepatocellular carcinoma incidence was 0.92 in the unvaccinated cohort and 0.23 in the vaccinated cohort.
2. Of the 1,509 patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma, 1,343 were born before the country's Hepatitis B vaccination program began, while 166 were born after its inception.
3. Hepatocellular carcinoma development was associated with incomplete immunization and transmission of Hepatitis B from a contagious mother.
4. The researchers conclude that Hepatitis B immunization reduces an infant's risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus, improving Hepatitis B vaccination may be an effective liver cancer prevention strategy.