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Liver cancer drug 'too expensive'

(BBC 19/11/2009)

A drug that can prolong the lives of patients with advanced liver cancer has been rejected for use in the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said the cost of Nexavar - about £3,000 a month - was "simply too high". But Macmillan Cancer Support said the decision was "a scandal". More than 3,000 people are diagnosed with liver cancer every year in the UK and their prognosis is generally poor.

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Booze culture blamed as liver cancer trebles in 30 years

(The Scotsman 20/08/2009)

LIVER cancer has tripled over the past 30 years with experts blaming the UK's drinking culture and rising obesity rates for the increase. Figures released today by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) show that in 1975 there were 865 cases of cancer originating in the liver but by 2006 this had risen to 3,108. Primary liver cancer has been rare in the UK and the western world accounting for 1.09 per cent of all cancers. In Scotland, 256 men and 122 women died from liver cancer in 2007.

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Cancer news via lawyer's letter

(BBC 19/03/2009)

An 82-year-old man from Nottinghamshire accidentally learnt he was dying of liver cancer in a solicitor's letter. The family of Harold Brace, of Skegby, thought it would be better to keep the news from him because he has dementia. His son, Chris Brace, a taxi driver from Sutton in Ashfield, said he was now demanding an apology from Broadbents solicitors.

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Liver cancer deaths soar in Lothians

(The Scotsman 02/10/2008)

Statistics released by the Scottish Government show 62 people died from liver cancer in the Lothians in 2007 - nearly twice as many as in 2000. The death toll is the highest ever recorded since records began in 1985 - when only 21 people died of the disease. The statistics for Lothian are in keeping with the national trend, and are being linked with growing abuse of alcohol by people of all ages.

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