MEDICAL DOCTORS under the aegis of the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN) have alerted over the rising cases of liver cancer in the country.

 

SOGHIN yesterday at a press conference ahead of its Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting and to mark the 2013 World Hepatitis Day (WHD) blamed this on poor diagnosis, vaccination and treatment of hepatitis B and C as well as smoking, alcohol and herbal concoctions. They, however, said hepatitis is an entirely preventable disease if detected early. 

 

The theme of the two-day scientific conference to be held Thursday August 1 and 2, 2013 at Sheraton Hotels and Towers Ikeja, Lagos is “The burden of gastrointestinal and liver diseases in Nigeria” with sub theme “Viral hepatitis and liver cancer.” 

 

The gastroenterologists said the fact that many infections are silent, causing no symptoms until there is irreversible damage to the liver, points to the urgent need for universal access to immunization, screening, diagnosis, and antiviral therapy particularly from public sponsored treatment programmes which unfortunately do not exist in Nigeria currently.

 

Chairperson SOGHIN Lagos Chapter and consultant gastroenterologist at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr. Charles Onyekwere, said liver cancer is one of the fastest rising types of cancer, and one with a poor prognosis. 

 

Onyekwere further explained: “We are seeing more cases of liver cancer in our clinics caused by hepatitis B and C and most of them present very late. It is disturbing to note that infections with hepatitis B and C viruses cause an estimated 57 per cent of cases of liver cirrhosis and 78 per cent of cases of primary liver cancer.

 

“The greatest risk factors for liver cancer are chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections. One of the problems with this disease is that it does not develop symptoms or patients aren’t aware that they have the problem until the disease is very advanced, at a very large and untreatable stage. 

 

“Of those diagnosed with it, four of five will die within five years, compared with people of the same age in the general population who do not have cancer.

 

“Against this background we call on government to prioritise Hepatitis B response in the country by first having an established goal of eliminating Hepatitis B and declaring the epidemic as a national public health emergency. That is exactly what it is!  Or how else can we describe a virus that has affected over 20 million Nigerians and causing thousands of deaths each year? 

 

“Out of the over 20 million Nigerians living with the virus, less than 500 thousand of them have access to treatment including quality treatment literacy hence our demand for publicly funded Hepatitis B treatment programmes across the country.

 

“We demand that treatment subsidy programmes be initiated by the Federal and state governments as a way of reducing Hepatitis-B related mortality and the rate of infection. The time to act is now as delay means more needless loss of lives.”

 

Another consultant gastroenterologist and member of SOGHIN, Dr. Oladipupo Hameed, said: “Apart from smoking, hepatitis B has more chance of causing liver cancer. Everyday we see cases of liver cancer. Unfortunately most of them present very late when nothing can be done or when the chances of survival is minimal. The problem is here with us.

 

“Most people get infected with the virus very early in life and do not get to know because it is asymptomatic until the liver is damaged. But is these people get to know their status through testing and change their lifestyle such quitting intake of alcohol and herbal concoctions, they may never develop liver cancer.”  

 

Hameed further explained: “Just as people want to discover their HIV status, they should also try to know their Hepatitis status. The screening costs about N1, 000 and is available at most hospitals. Without this first-line screening, doctors cannot move to the next stage of treatment which is determining the quantity of the virus in the blood and prescribing drugs before patients develop full-blown liver cancer or liver cirrhosis. If people don’t get screened, when they come for treatment after symptoms have developed, their liver already has cancer. It’s like medicine after death.” 

 

Formed in September 2007, SOGHIN is a professional body made up of Nigerian physicians, surgeons, pathologists and allied health professionals dedicated to the advancement of knowledge on the recognition, prevention, investigation and treatment of liver and digestive diseases.