Open AccessA study of 3013 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma: Etiology and therapy before and during the current decade
Author(s) -
Lim MiaoShan,
Goh George BB,
Chang Jason PE,
Low JeeKeem,
Shelat Vishalkumar G,
Huey Terence CW,
Dan YockYoung,
Kow Alfred,
Shridhar Iyer,
Tan PohSeng,
Junnarkar Sameer P,
Tan CheeKiat
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jgh open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 8
ISSN - 2397-9070
DOI - 10.1002/jgh3.12624
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatocellular carcinoma , cohort , etiology , steatohepatitis , gastroenterology , cohort study , hepatitis b , fatty liver , disease
Abstract Background and Aim Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant global problem. With advances in HCC diagnosis and therapy, our hypothesis is that there are significant differences in the clinical characteristics and treatment of HCC over the years. Methods Patients with HCC between 1980 and 2018 from three major tertiary hospitals in Singapore were enrolled into a Research Electronic Data Capture database. Clinical characteristics and treatment of HCC were compared between those diagnosed before 2008 (cohort A) and during the current decade (ie from 2008 onwards) (cohort B). Results There were 3013 patients. Mean age of HCC diagnosis was significantly older in cohort B (68.6 vs 61.2 years, P < 0.001). The most common etiology remained as chronic hepatitis B infection but the proportion due to hepatitis B was significantly lower in cohort B (46.6% vs 57.2%, P < 0.0001). The prevalence of cryptogenic/non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis was significantly higher in cohort B than cohort A (27.1% vs 18.6%, P < 0.0001). More patients received curative therapy in cohort B (43.7% vs 27.1%, P < 0.0001. Conclusion In this largest collection of HCC patients in Singapore, patients are diagnosed with HCC at an older age and cryptogenic/non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis is becoming more important as an etiology of HCC in the current decade. More patients also received curative therapy in the current decade.