Antiviral therapy can reduce liver cancers

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China accounts for 55 percent of the 500,000 new liver cancer cases reported worldwide each year and 90 percent of the new cases stem from hepatitis B, a medical forum said yesterday.

Antiviral therapy is the most effective treatment for hepatitis B, however many Chinese patients fail to receive proper treatment.

The forum learned that the nation's first health guidance for hepatitis B patients will be issued jointly by the Wu Jieping Medical Association and the US pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb.

"Appropriate antiviral therapy for hepatitis B can delay the deterioration of the disease and reduce the possibility of cirrhosis and liver cancer," said Dr Wei Lai, director of the Chinese Medical Association's liver disease branch.

Currently, there are nearly 30 million hepatitis B patients in China.

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