Odainn
Cancers

Who dies of liver cancer?

In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, 1.1% of men and 0.58% of women eventually die of liver cancer. It is never the most likely cause of death for any one country, sex and age group — but it adds up over a lifetime.

The risk by age

Chance of dying of liver cancer within 10 years, and its share of all the risk at that age — the median of 36 countries. Your own country's numbers are one click away on its page.

Agemenwomen
15–19<0.01% (0.20% of the risk)0% (0% of the risk)
20–24<0.01% (0.34% of the risk)<0.01% (0.20% of the risk)
25–29<0.01% (0.37% of the risk)<0.01% (0.38% of the risk)
30–34<0.01% (0.54% of the risk)<0.01% (0.67% of the risk)
35–390.01% (0.70% of the risk)<0.01% (0.79% of the risk)
40–440.03% (1.1% of the risk)0.01% (0.80% of the risk)
45–490.06% (1.3% of the risk)0.02% (1.1% of the risk)
50–540.12% (1.7% of the risk)0.04% (1.2% of the risk)
55–590.23% (2.0% of the risk)0.07% (1.4% of the risk)
60–640.33% (2.1% of the risk)0.12% (1.4% of the risk)
65–690.44% (1.9% of the risk)0.17% (1.3% of the risk)
70–740.55% (1.5% of the risk)0.23% (0.94% of the risk)
75–790.56% (1.1% of the risk)0.26% (0.66% of the risk)
80–840.47% (0.65% of the risk)0.26% (0.41% of the risk)
85–890.32% (0.35% of the risk)0.20% (0.24% of the risk)
90–940.22% (0.23% of the risk)0.14% (0.15% of the risk)

Lifetime chance, men: highest and lowest countries

  1. France1.8%
  2. Portugal1.5%
  3. Italy1.5%
  4. Luxembourg1.4%
  5. Spain1.4%
  6. Slovenia1.4%
  7. Moldova1.4%
  8. Switzerland1.3%
  9. Greece1.3%
  10. Croatia1.3%
  11. Bulgaria0.74%
  12. Poland0.61%
  13. Türkiye0.58%

Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries

  1. Slovenia0.87%
  2. France0.80%
  3. Moldova0.77%
  4. Ireland0.76%
  5. Canada0.75%
  6. United Kingdom0.74%
  7. Italy0.73%
  8. Romania0.72%
  9. Greece0.71%
  10. Spain0.65%
  11. Hungary0.37%
  12. Türkiye0.34%
  13. Lithuania0.34%

What changes the odds

Weight, exercise, alcohol and diet at age 55, from the published studies behind Odainn's personal numbers — methodology.

Liver cancer is more likely with cirrhosis or hepatitis. Keeping alcohol low, a healthy weight and not smoking lower the risk, and so do the hepatitis B vaccine and testing and treatment for hepatitis B and C.

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Related: Lung cancer · Colorectal cancer · Breast cancer · Prostate cancer · Pancreatic cancer · Oesophageal cancer · Stomach cancer · Cervical cancer · Uterine & ovarian cancer · Leukaemia & lymphoma · Brain cancer · Melanoma (skin cancer) · Kidney cancer · Bladder cancer · Mouth, throat & larynx cancer · Other cancers

Questions

At what age is liver cancer most likely to be the cause of death?
For men, liver cancer takes its largest share of deaths at 60–64: 2.1% of the risk of dying in the next 10 years, in the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age.
Which country has the highest risk of dying of liver cancer?
Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, France has the highest lifetime chance of dying of liver cancer for men (1.8%), and Türkiye the lowest (0.58%).
What raises the risk of dying of liver cancer?
People with obesity (a BMI of 30 or more): about 2.4 times as often as people of healthy weight. In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 2.3 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015). Heavy drinkers: about 1.7 times as often as people who don't drink.

Computed by Odainn from official mortality statistics (Eurostat; ONS, NRS and NISRA; CDC; Statistics Canada) for 36 countries, latest years — how we calculate. Belarus is left out: deaths by cause and age aren't published together there, so the split by cause is our estimate. Population statistics, not a prediction for any individual. Educational, not medical advice.