Comparing Liver Cancer Prevention Strategies in Japan and the US

In an interview with CancerNetwork® at The Liver Meeting® 2026, Ryosuke Tateishi, MD, PhD, FAASLD, of the University of Tokyo, discussed what clinicians in the US and Japan can learn from each other as the leading causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) shift from viral hepatitis to metabolic dysfunction.

Tateishi presented on physical and dietary interventions to prevent liver cancer from metabolic causes in Japan during a joint session of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the Japan Society of Hepatology (JSH) focused on liver cancer prevention.¹ In the interview, he stated that Japan’s earlier experience with hepatitis C may offer lessons for the US, whereas the US has more experience managing obesity and related disorders. He added that although Asian individuals are more susceptible to fatty liver disease at a given body weight than people of European ancestry, the mechanisms linking overeating and a sedentary lifestyle to cancer are similar in both countries, allowing evidence to be shared across populations.

Transcript:

CancerNetwork: Your session compared liver cancer prevention in Japan and the US, 2 fairly distinct patient populations. What could US practice learn from Japan’s approach to surveillance and early detection, and what could Japan learn from the US?

Tateishi: Regarding hepatitis C, the spread of the virus in Japan was perhaps 20 to 30 years ahead of that in the US, so the US may learn from Japan. Regarding obesity and obesity-related disorders, however, the US is a great teacher for us, and we need to learn from it.

When you look at the prevalence of metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease [MASLD] according to body weight or body mass index, Asians are more susceptible to fatty liver disease than people of European ancestry, so we may need a somewhat different approach to lifestyle intervention to reduce cancer risk. However, the mechanism linking overeating or a sedentary lifestyle to cancer development is quite similar in the US and Japan, so we may extrapolate evidence from the US to Japan, or from Japan to the US.

Reference

Tateishi R. Physical and dietary interventions for prevention of liver cancer from metabolic etiologies in Japan. Presented at: The Liver Meeting 2026; November 5-9, 2026; Denver, CO.