The relationship between metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and cancer remains highly relevant, scientifically interesting, yet mechanistically unresolved.1 Understandably, the field has tended to direct its attention towards hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which has an incidence of 1.25 per 1,000 person-years in those with MASLD, and is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.2 However, it is worth remembering that at a population level, the most common causes of death in patients with MASLD are extrahepatic cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The relationship between metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and cancer remains highly relevant, scientifically interesting, yet mechanistically unresolved.1 Understandably, the field has tended to direct its attention towards hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which has an incidence of 1.25 per 1,000 person-years in those with MASLD, and is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.2 However, it is worth remembering that at a population level, the most common causes of death in patients with MASLD are extrahepatic cancer and cardiovascular disease.