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Over time, chronic hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections can progress to advanced liver disease, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Unlike other forms, more than 80% of hepatitis C infections become chronic and lead to liver disease. When combined with hepatitis B, hepatitis C now accounts for 75% percent of all cases of liver disease around the world. Liver failure caused by hepatitis C is now leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.
The first oral chemotherapy drug for colon cancer was approved by FDA in 2001.
Excessive alcohol use costs the country approximately $235 billion every year.
The longest a person has survived after a heart transplant is 24 years.
Most childhood vaccines are 90–99% effective in preventing disease. Side effects are rarely serious.