Gómez Rodríguez R, Romero Gutiérrez M, González de Frutos C, de Artaza Varasa T, de la Cruz Perez G, Ciampi Dopazo JJ, Lanciego Pérez C, Gómez Moreno AZ. [Clinical characteristics, staging and treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in clinical practice. Prospective study of 136 patients].
GASTROENTEROLOGIA Y HEPATOLOGIA 2011;
34:524-31. [PMID:
21940068 DOI:
10.1016/j.gastrohep.2011.06.009]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2011] [Revised: 06/05/2011] [Accepted: 06/07/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent cause of mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis. There are no prospective series from a single tertiary hospital in Spain.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
We performed a prospective study of patients with HCC in our center. Clinical and epidemiological characteristics, diagnostic method, staging according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system and treatment were analyzed.
RESULTS
A total of 136 patients were included (80.9% men). The mean age was 66.62 ± 11.68 years and 91.2% were cirrhotic. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was the leading cause of liver disease (38.97%). The suspected diagnosis was established by a surveillance program in 63.2%. Noninvasive American Association criteria for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) were the main diagnostic method (73.5%). According to the BCLC, 58.1% were in the early stage (0-A), 21.3% in stage B, 12.5% in stage C and 8.1% in stage D. Early stage patients had followed a surveillance program more frequently than those with non-early stages (79.75% versus 44.35%, p <0.001). Potentially curative initial treatment was used in 45.58%, the most common treatment being percutaneous ethanol injection (23.13%).
CONCLUSIONS
Most patients with HCC in our hospital have cirrhosis, the most frequent cause being HCV. HCC surveillance in at-risk patients could increase diagnosis of HCC at an early stage. We achieved an early diagnosis in more than half of cases. The most common initial treatment was percutaneous therapy.
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