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Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Extra-hepatic Malignancy

  • Fatty Liver Disease (SA Harrison and J George, Section editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has risen to become the most common cause of chronic liver disease in Western nations in concert with rising rates of obesity. The majority of patients with NAFLD meet criteria for the metabolic syndrome and are often found to have insulin resistance (IR) or frank diabetes along with increased rates of cardiovascular disease, overall mortality, and primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The association of NAFLD with cancer specifically is an area of more recent investigation with the majority of data coming indirectly from population based studies linking obesity and a variety of extra-hepatic malignancies. Research specifically linking NAFLD with cancer has been limited to colorectal adenomas and colorectal cancer (CRC), with the majority of data showing an increased prevalence of both in NAFLD populations.

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Dustin M. Albert and Dawn M. Torres declare no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All studies by Dustin M. Albert and Dawn M. Torres involving human subjects were performed after approval by the appropriate Institutional Review Boards. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Correspondence to Dawn M. Torres.

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The view(s) expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of Walter Reed Military Medical Center, the U.S. Army Medical Department, the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General, the Department of the Army, Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.

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Albert, D.M., Torres, D.M. Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Extra-hepatic Malignancy. Curr Hepatology Rep 13, 106–112 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-014-0213-y

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