Research Reveals that Hepatitis C Likely to Cause Other Cancers too, Apart from Liver Cancer

It is already a known fact that Hepatitis C can cause liver cancer when left untreated, but a new study has revealed that this disease can further lead to other types of cancers as well. Those who are fighting off hepatitis c are at a potential risk of getting prostate and renal cancers, in addition to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The researchers looked in to the medical records of the cancer patients who were 18 years or above in age and had got the diagnosis between 2008 to 2012, states Medical News Today. They found that within this period, around 145,000 men and women were battling Hepatitis C and more than 13 million people did not; of these, 2000 people were diagnosed with cancer within 4 to 5 years of being diagnosed with hepatitis c. This implied that 1500 per 100,000 people supported the theory of getting diagnosed with cancer after getting diagnosed with Hepatitis C, states Youth Health Magazine.

These statistics showed that the risk of developing cancer for the hepatitis c population was much higher than the non-Hepatitis C population. It was 2.5 times higher than those who already had hepatitis c in their bodies.

Even though this study made the implications of leaving hepatitis c untreated very clear, the researchers still want to lay emphasis on the fact that lifestyle factors such as smoking and drinking play a much important role when it comes to getting diseased by cancer.

Hepatitis C, called as HCV in short, is a type of hepatitis which is virus borne and leads to the chronic inflammation of the liver. People get infected with this disease through infected blood and there is no cure known for it in medical science.