What people living with liver cancer wish they had known earlier about hepatitis B
During the acute infection phase, it can cause a range of symptoms from mild to acute, lasting for up to six months, with the most common signs of the disease including nausea, fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and jaundice.
However, some cases can progress to a chronic infection and may eventually cause cirrhosis and liver cancer, typically leading to the need for costly long-term medical care. Liver cancer rates in Southeast Asia are expected to double by 2050, resulting in 200,000 deaths per year.
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is transmitted by exposure to infectious blood or body fluids – most commonly from mother to child during birth and delivery, particularly in highly endemic regions. Among the other risks are blood transfusions, dialysis and travel in countries with high rates of infection.
Up to 254 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B in 2022, with a further 1.2 million new infections occurring each year, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.
These figures are striking, but it is often the experiences of individuals living day-to-day with the disease that most clearly bring home the urgent need for a wider call to action.
Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company based in the United States, which specialises in the research and development (R&D) of antiviral drugs, is committed to raising awareness of the issue. It recently produced What I Wish I Knew, a short film series featuring four real-life stories of people living with hepatitis B in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, which is both informative and inspiring.
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