About 2 percent of Americans are infected with the hepatitis C virus, Amado said. In addition, Asian populations, which also have a high incidence as carriers of hepatitis B, continue to grow in the United States. New figures released this year by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Asians and Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority populations in this country. In the last decade, the nation's Asian population grew by 43 percent, with most of that growth occurring in California, which is now home to more than 4 million Asian residents. Los Angeles County, populated by increasing numbers of Chinese, Koreans and Southeast Asians, is already the area of the United States with the highest incidence of liver cancer.
Liver cancer is difficult to diagnose early because patients often exhibit few symptoms.
The liver also is a difficult organ to examine manually due to its location under the rib cage. Conventional treatments fall woefully short of saving lives. Liver transplants can be performed on cancer patients, but are rare, Busuttil said. Removing the entire tumor surgically is the only way to cure liver cancer. However, if the cancer has spread beyond the liver, surgery is not an option.