<p style="text-align:start">In the United States, liver cancer rates have more than tripled since 1980 and Latino face an even higher risk than the general population—but researchers do not fully understand why. A study were just published in the journal <a href="http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/cncr.35000">Cancer</a> from the <a href="https://keck.usc.edu/">Keck School of Medicine of USC</a>, funded by the National Cancer Institute, has shed new light on those disparities. Researchers found that among Mexican Americans, liver cancer risk rises the longer a person’s family has lived in the U.S. That increased risk primarily affected men. Compared to the first generation, second-generation Mexican Americans were 37% more likely to develop liver cancer and third-generation Mexican Americans were 66% more likely to get the disease. Metabolic syndrome (which includes obesity and diabetes) and lifestyle factors, such as an increase in alcohol consumption and smoking in later generations, can explain some—but not all—of the increased risk. More research is needed to understand what other factors are linked to the rise in liver cancer cases. </p>