Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
|
Hepatocellular carcinoma Microchapters |
|
Differentiating Hepatocellular carcinoma from other Diseases |
|---|
|
Diagnosis |
|
Treatment |
|
Case Studies |
|
Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics |
|
FDA on Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics |
|
CDC on Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics |
|
Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics in the news |
|
Blogs on Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Hepatocellular carcinoma epidemiology and demographics |
Overview
HCC is the 5th most common tumor worldwide. The epidemiology of HCC exhibits two main patterns, one in North America and Western Europe and another in non-Western countries, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, and the Amazon basin. Males are affected more than females usually and it is more common between the 3rd and 5th decades of life. Hepatocellular carcinoma causes 662,000 deaths worldwide per year.[1]
Epidemiology and Demographics
Age
HCC is more common between the 3rd and 5th decades of life.
Gender
Males are affected more than females.
Non-Western Countries
In some parts of the world—such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia—HCC is the most common cancer, generally affecting men more than women, and with an age of onset between late teens and 30s. This variability is in part due to the different patterns of hepatitis B transmission in different populations - infection at or around birth predispose to earlier cancers than if people are infected later. The time between hepatitis B infection and development into HCC can be years even decades, but from diagnosis of HCC to death the average survival period is only 5.9 months, according to one Chinese study during the 1970-80s, or 3 months (median survival time) in Sub-Saharan Africa according to Manson's textbook of tropical diseases. HCC is one of the deadliest cancers in China. Food infected with Aspergillus flavus (especially peanuts and corns stored during prolonged wet seasons) which produces aflatoxin, poses another risk factor for HCC.
North America and Western Europe
Most malignant tumors of the liver discovered in Western patients are metastases (spread) from tumors elsewhere. In the West, HCC is generally seen as rare cancer, normally of those with pre-existing liver disease. It is often detected by ultrasound screening, and so can be discovered by health-care facilities much earlier than in developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.