People with fatty liver disease in their 20s and 30s were found on 23rd to be at higher risk of developing cancer before age 50. Fatty liver is a condition in which fat accumulates excessively in liver cells and can worsen into cirrhosis or liver cancer. Heavy drinking, obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disorders such as hyperlipidemia can cause fatty liver.
A research team led by Moon Jun-ho, a professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, said in the latest issue of the international journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology that "tracking 2,877,245 people in their 20s and 30s for 10 years found that having fatty liver increases the likelihood of early-onset cancer by 20% compared with those without the disease."
The researchers investigated whether people in their 20s and 30s who underwent the national health checkup in 2013–2014 developed any of 23 cancers, including those of the digestive and respiratory systems. As a result, patients with fatty liver were more likely to develop cancer before age 50. By fatty liver subtype, the likelihood of cancer was 21% higher for alcohol-related, 19% higher for metabolically associated, and 12% higher for combined.
In particular, people with fatty liver were found to have a 32% higher risk of colorectal cancer than those without the disease. Obesity affects colorectal cancer. In addition, the risk for people with fatty liver was 53% higher for kidney cancer and 36% higher for thyroid cancer.
According to the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver, people in their 20s and 30s with fatty liver disease accounted for 34.3% of the total in 2017. The risks that fatty liver in younger adults poses to organs other than the liver had not been well established. Moon Jun-ho said, "Cancers that occur before age 50 progress quickly and are highly aggressive, so the prognosis can vary depending on early diagnosis and treatment," adding, "Because many patients leave fatty liver unattended, screening strategies for younger adults are needed."
References
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2025.01.042