Members' Business — S6M-08629 Stuart McMillan: Scotland's Liver Cancer Crisis

That the Parliament understands that 90% of liver disease is preventable, but that rising alcohol misuse, obesity and viral hepatitis are reportedly contributing to a liver disease and liver cancer crisis in Scotland; notes reports that liver disease burden is highest in deprived areas, such as those within the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency, which, it understands, had the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths in 2017-2021, the majority of which were caused by alcohol-related liver disease; highlights what it sees as the importance of prevention and earlier detection of liver cancer, as one of the less survivable cancers, which, it understands, has seen the highest increase in mortality rates of all cancer types in Scotland over the last decade, and commends the work of the British Liver Trust and other charities in promoting the use of intelligent liver function tests and non-invasive liver scans in primary and community care to accelerate earlier detection of liver disease and liver cancer in order to save lives and reduce long-term pressures on the NHS.