Liver Cancer Free Campaign: Mobilizing Public Support for Congressional Funding for Viral Hepatitis Research and Prevention Programs

Abstract

Few in the general public know that Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading cause of cancer in humans, most notably liver cancer, the fifth leading type of cancer in the world. As many as 2 million Americans and 500 million people worldwide have viral hepatitis B, which accounts for 80% of all liver cancers worldwide. Most notably, Asian Americans have higher prevalence of viral hepatitis B than other racial and ethnic groups. Of the estimated 2 million chronic hepatitis B patient in the US, over half are Asian Americans. Among API men living in California, liver cancer ranks as a leading cause of cancer death: #1 for Laotian Americans, #2 for Vietnamese and Cambodian Americans, #4 for Chinese and Korean Americans and #5 for Filipino Americans.