ArticleBMC cancer2024
Regular use of paracetamol and risk of liver cancer: a prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Integrative Bioinformatic and Epidemiological Analysis of Acetaminophen Use and Risk of Sex Hormone-Related Cancers.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Hepatoprotective potential of M3F, a benzimidazole pyrazole derivative, against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Global burden of liver cancer attributable to drug use: trends from 1990 to 2021 and projections to 2040.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Liver Cancer Etiology: Old Issues and New Perspectives.Current oncology reports · 2024Review
- Causal Effects and Immune Cell Mediators of Prescription Analgesic Use and Risk of Liver Cancer and Precancerosis in European Population: A Mendelian Randomization Study.Biomedicines · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundParacetamol induces hepatotoxicity and subsequent liver injury, which may increase the risk of liver cancer, but epidemiological evidence remains unclear. We conducted this study to evaluate the association between paracetamol use and the risk of liver cancer.
methodsThis prospective study included 464,244 participants free of cancer diagnosis from the UK Biobank. Incident liver cancer was identified through linkage to cancer and death registries and the National Health Service Central Register using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes (C22). An overlap-weighted Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the risk of liver cancer associated with paracetamol use. The number needed to harm (NNH) was calculated at 10 years of follow-up.
resultsDuring a median of 12.6 years of follow-up, 627 cases of liver cancer were identified. Paracetamol users had a 28% higher risk of liver cancer than nonusers (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.06-1.54). This association was robust in several sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses, and the quantitative bias analysis indicated that the result remains sturdy to unmeasured confounding factors (E-value 1.88, lower 95% CI 1.31). The NNH was 1106.4 at the 10 years of follow-up.
conclusionThe regular use of paracetamol was associated with a higher risk of liver cancer. Physicians should be cautious when prescribing paracetamol, and it is recommended to assess the potential risk of liver cancer to personalize the use of paracetamol.
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