Hepatitis B and C viruses cause a high rate of liver cancer among Vietnamese people

“Hepatitis B and C are the leading causes of liver cancer in Vietnam,” Prof.Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Medical Association, spoke at the Conference Research and application in medicine, organized by the Ministry of Health on October 23 in Hanoi.

There are 4 types of viral hepatitis, including A, B, C and E. Hepatitis A and E cause acute digestive infections, viral hepatitis B and C cause chronic hepatitis, leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Among them, A, C and E can be cured. Hepatitis B virus has no treatment, only inhibitors.

Data from the Ministry of Health shows that Vietnam is one of the countries with a high burden of viral hepatitis in the Western Pacific region. It is estimated that our country currently has about 6.6 million people with hepatitis B and nearly one million people with chronic hepatitis C. While in developed countries such as the US and Europe, this rate is very low thanks to the decades-long vaccination campaign.

“Cirrhosis and liver cancer will continue to increase if we do not quickly expand diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis B and C,” Professor Kinh said, citing a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance at Cho Ray Hospital in 2018 showed that among newly diagnosed HCC patients, 66% had hepatitis B and 21% had hepatitis C. Currently, the rate of new incidence and death from liver cancer in Vietnam is the leading one. with over 25,000 new cases and deaths each year.

Professor Kinh said Vietnam aims to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. However, the current barriers are people’s lack of awareness, limited access and affordability. Specifically, the rate of people knowing their infection status is low, and there is no screening program. The cost of treatment medicine is high, on average from 80,000 – 1,300,000/month for people with hepatitis B, requiring lifelong treatment. Hepatitis C medicine costs about 22 million VND for 12 weeks of treatment. In addition, health insurance’s coverage rate for hepatitis C treatment is still low, only 50%.

Therefore, Professor Kinh recommends raising community awareness about the importance of preventing, testing and treating hepatitis B and C. Increase coverage of newborn dose hepatitis B vaccine, and further improve Access services to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Reduce co-payment rates for hepatitis C drugs to 20% and be paid at the district level. Include hepatitis B and C treatment drugs in the list of drugs for centralized bidding or price negotiation list.

People are recommended to regularly check their health and test early to detect hepatitis B and C. “If you have not yet had the disease, get vaccinated and check the amount of hepatitis antibodies after vaccination. If you have the disease, you should Get regular check-ups every 6 months, comply with treatment prescriptions with antiviral drugs, and regularly screen for liver cancer,” Professor Kinh advised.

At the conference, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan assessed that Vietnam faces a dual disease model, specifically emerging infectious diseases alongside non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, COPD, mental health disorders… are increasing. According to the latest reports, the death rate caused by non-communicable diseases accounts for 84% of the total deaths in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health has developed and is implementing strategies and plans, aiming to improve the health of the entire population. One of the top priorities is to continue to improve the institution. At the same time, continue to strengthen the system of preventive medicine and primary health care; train high-quality human resources and strengthen scientific research and promote international cooperation.