The availability of population estimates for different age and
ethnic groups meant that the assumption that the population
was unchanged since the 2001 Census was not needed. The
differences between the estimated data and the original Census
data are small in the older age groups, and so the results were
not materially affected by using either population dataset.
This study has found variations in the incidence and survival of
primary liver cancer between ethnic groups. Both clinicians and
the communities affected should be aware of the higher risks in
particular ethnic groups. These differences are possibly due to
higher prevalence of established risk factors such as chronic
hepatitis B and C viral infection in some, but not all ethnic groups.
Due to the low seroprevalence of hepatitis B in the UK, country of
birth, age at migration and length of stay in England are likely to be
important factors in this disease, and future research should
examine these where possible.