Mailed Outreach Program Increases Ultrasound Screening of Patients With Cirrhosis for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Patient's informational needs and outreach preferences: A cross-sectional survey study in patients with hepatobiliary malignancies

Objective

Hepatobiliary tumors have evolving management guidelines. Patient educational needs and interest in community engagement are unknown. This study serves as a needs assessment.

Methods

A prospective, needs assessment, survey study of hepatobiliary patients was performed (2016-2019). Surveys (n = 169) were distributed covering three domains of interest: informational needs, interest in outreach, and engagement preferences.

Results

Seventy patients completed the survey (response rate = 41.4%). Most patients had completed surgical treatment (84.3%). Cancer treatment was ranked as their primary topic of interest (n = 39, 55.7bold%), followed by symptom management, nutrition, and survivorship. Most patients did not participate in screening (n = 57, 81.4%), though were interested in learning more about these programs. Thirty-nine patients (55.7%) stated they would want to receive more education. Only 17 (24.3%) were interested in attending in-person events. Patients preferred online methods for education (n = 49, 70%). While patients were aware of their case presentation at tumor board, only 38 (54.3%) felt well-informed about recommendations.

Conclusion

Multidisciplinary care is complex and difficult for patients to navigate. Most patients have interest in educational resources and prefer online modalities. Patients understand multidisciplinary tumor boards, but communication could be improved.

Innovation

These data inform a new, innovative, approach to outreach efforts in this population.

Advancing Surveillance Strategies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A New Era of Efficacy and Precision

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the few cancers with a 5-year survival that has remained below 20%; however, prognosis differs by tumor stage at diagnosis. Curative treatment options among patients with early-stage HCC afford a median survival of 5-10 years. Accordingly, international society guidelines recommend semi-annual HCC surveillance in at-risk patients, including those with cirrhosis or high-risk chronic hepatitis B infection. Surveillance is associated with increased early-stage HCC detection and curative treatments, leading to reduced HCC-related mortality. Abdominal ultrasound has been the cornerstone for HCC surveillance for the past two decades, but recent data have highlighted its suboptimal sensitivity for early-stage HCC detection, particularly in patients with obesity and those with non-viral etiologies of liver disease. The combination of ultrasound plus alpha fetoprotein (AFP) has higher sensitivity for early-stage HCC detection than ultrasound alone, although the combination still misses over one-third of HCC at an early stage. Emerging imaging and blood-based biomarker strategies have promising data in biomarker phase 2 (case-control) and phase 3 (cohort) studies. Beyond ultrasound, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the best-studied imaging strategy, with superior sensitivity and specificity compared to ultrasound in a cohort study. Abbreviated MRI protocols have been proposed to address concerns about MRI radiological capacity, costs, and patient acceptance. Of biomarker strategies, GALAD (a panel including gender, age, AFP, AFP-L3, and DCP) is the best validated, with promising sensitivity for early-stage HCC detection in a national multi-center cohort study. Liquid biopsy biomarkers, including methylated DNA markers, have also shown promising accuracy in case-control studies. Abbreviated MRI and GALAD are now entering prospective trials that examine clinical outcomes such as early-stage HCC detection and screening-related harms, which are essential data to understand for adoption in clinical practice. As additional surveillance strategies become available, it will allow an era of precision surveillance in which optimal surveillance modalities are tailored to individual patient risk and expected test performance.

Health disparities in cirrhosis care and liver transplantation

Morbidity and mortality from cirrhosis are substantial and increasing. Health disparities in cirrhosis and liver transplantation are reflective of inequities along the entire spectrum of chronic liver disease care, from screening and diagnosis to prevention and treatment of liver-related complications. The key populations experiencing disparities in health status and healthcare delivery include racial and ethnic minority groups, sexual and gender minorities, people of lower socioeconomic status and underserved rural communities. These disparities lead to delayed diagnosis of chronic liver disease and complications of cirrhosis (for example, hepatocellular carcinoma), to differences in treatment of chronic liver disease and its complications, and ultimately to unequal access to transplantation for those with end-stage liver disease. Calling out these disparities is only the first step towards implementing solutions that can improve health equity and clinical outcomes for everyone. Multi-level interventions along the care continuum for chronic liver disease are needed to mitigate these disparities and provide equitable access to care.

mhealth-based interventions to improving liver cancer screening among high-risk populations: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Liver cancer (LC) screening, such as AFP test and abdominal ultrasound, is an effective way to prevent LC, one of the most common cancers worldwide. Despite the proven screening benefits, screening participation among high-risk populations for LC remains low. This suggests that targeted, systematic, and effective interventions should be provided to improve knowledge and awareness related to LC screening, enhance screening intentions, and thereby promote screening behaviors. Telephone is people's main medium of daily communication and mHealth-based programs offer a potential and effective solution for promoting health behaviors. The purpose of this study is to develop and implement a mHealth (WeChat app) based intervention guided by Fogg's Behavior Model (FBM) to augment the knowledge of LC prevention among people at risk of LC and enhance their motivation for screening, and to validate its effectiveness in improving LC screening.

METHODS

We propose a two-arm, single-blind randomized controlled trial with 82 at-risk individuals of LC, delivering a 6-month mHealth-based intervention program with optional health counseling. Recruitment will be through tertiary hospitals and community organizations in 4 districts in Heng Yang. In total, 82 individuals at high risk for HCC will be randomized 1:1 to intervention or control (usual care) groups. The intervention group will receive intervention, whose contents are based on the FBM model, via multiple forms of media including PowerPoint presentation, multimedia video, health information booklet and screening message, which is delivered in the WeChat Applet. Control dyads will be provided with usual health education. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and post-intervention.

DISCUSSION

The findings of this study will provide evidence of the benefits of utilizing mHealth-based approaches in intervention development to enhance the effectiveness of screening adherence for high-risk people of LC. Further, the findings would provide reference to the potential incorporation of the targeted intervention in local community organizations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2400080530) Date registered: 31/1/2024.

Ultrasonography of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Diagnosis to Prognosis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prominent contributor to cancer-related mortality worldwide. Early detection and diagnosis of liver cancer can significantly improve its prognosis and patient survival. Ultrasound technology, serving has undergone substantial advances as the primary method of HCC surveillance and has broadened its scope in recent years for effective management of HCC. This article is a comprehensive overview of ultrasound technology in the treatment of HCC, encompassing early detection, diagnosis, staging, treatment evaluation, and prognostic assessment. In addition, the authors summarized the application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of HCC and assessment of prognosis. Finally, the authors discussed further directions in this field by emphasizing overcoming existing obstacles and integrating cutting-edge technologies.

Clinician-Level Knowledge and Barriers to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance

Importance

Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis is underused. Identifying potentially modifiable factors to address barriers in HCC surveillance is critical to improve patient outcomes.

Objective

To evaluate clinician-level factors contributing to underuse of HCC surveillance in patients with cirrhosis.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This survey study included primary care clinicians (PCCs) and gastroenterology and hepatology clinicians at 5 safety-net health systems in the US. Clinicians were surveyed from March 15 to September 15, 2023, to assess knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, perceived barriers, and COVID-19-related disruptions in HCC surveillance in patients with cirrhosis. Data were analyzed from October to November 2023.

Main Outcome and Measures

HCC surveillance knowledge was assessed with 6 questions querying the respondent's ability to correctly identify appropriate use of HCC surveillance. Attitudes, perceived barriers, and beliefs regarding HCC surveillance and perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions with HCC surveillance were assessed with a series of statements using a 4-point Likert scale and compared PCCs and gastroenterology and hepatology clinicians.

Results

Overall, 347 of 1362 clinicians responded to the survey (25.5% response rate), among whom 142 of 237 (59.9%) were PCCs, 48 of 237 (20.3%) gastroenterology and hepatology, 190 of 236 (80.5%) were doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathic medicine, and 46 of 236 (19.5%) were advanced practice clinicians. On HCC knowledge assessment, 144 of 270 (53.3%) scored 5 or more of 6 questions correctly, 37 of 48 (77.1%) among gastroenterology and hepatology vs 65 of 142 (45.8%) among PCCs (P < .001). Those with higher HCC knowledge scores were less likely to report barriers to HCC surveillance. PCCs were more likely to report inadequate time to discuss HCC surveillance (37 of 139 [26.6%] vs 2 of 48 [4.2%]; P = .001), difficulty identifying patients with cirrhosis (82 of 141 [58.2%] vs 5 of 48 [10.4%]; P < .001), and were not up-to-date with HCC surveillance guidelines (87 of 139 [62.6%] vs 5 of 48 [10.4%]; P < .001) compared with gastroenterology and hepatology clinicians. While most acknowledged delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, 62 of 136 PCCs (45.6%) and 27 of 45 gastroenterology and hepatology clinicians (60.0%) reported that patients with cirrhosis could currently complete HCC surveillance without delays.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this survey study, important gaps in knowledge and perceived barriers to HCC surveillance were identified. Effective delivery of HCC education to PCCs and health system-level interventions must be pursued in parallel to address the complex barriers affecting suboptimal HCC surveillance in patients with cirrhosis.

Interventions to Improve Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in High-Risk Patients: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is most often a sequela of chronic liver disease or chronic hepatitis B infection. Among high-risk patients, surveillance for HCC every 6 months is recommended by international guidelines. However, rates of HCC surveillance are suboptimal (11-64%). Barriers at the patient, provider, and healthcare delivery system levels have been identified.

METHODS

We performed a systemic scoping review to identify and characterize interventions to improve HCC surveillance that has previously been evaluated. Searches using key terms in PubMed and Embase were performed to identify studies examining interventions designed to improve the surveillance rate for HCC in patients with cirrhosis or chronic liver disease that were published in English between January 1990 and September 2021.

RESULTS

Included studies (14) had the following study designs: (1) randomized clinical trials (3, 21.4%), (2) quasi-experimental (2, 14.3%), (3) prospective cohort (6, 42.8%), and (4) retrospective cohort (3, 21.4%). Interventions included mailed outreach invitations, nursing outreach, patient education with or without printed materials, provider education, patient navigation, chronic disease management programs, nursing-led protocols for image ordering, automated reminders to physicians and nurses, web-based clinical management tools, HCC surveillance databases, provider compliance reports, radiology-led surveillance programs, subsidized HCC surveillance, and the use of oral medications. It was found that HCC surveillance rates increased after intervention implementation in all studies.

CONCLUSION

Despite improvements in HCC surveillance rates with intervention, compliance remained suboptimal. Further analysis of which interventions yield the greatest increases in HCC surveillance, design of multi-pronged strategies, and improved implementation are needed.

A randomized trial of mailed outreach with behavioral economic interventions to improve liver cancer surveillance

BACKGROUND

Surveillance rates for HCC remain limited in patients with cirrhosis. We evaluated whether opt-out mailed outreach increased uptake with or without a $20 unconditional incentive.

METHODS

This was a pragmatic randomized controlled trial in an urban academic health system including adult patients with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, at least 1 visit to a specialty practice in the past 2 years and no surveillance in the last 7 months. Patients were randomized in a 1:2:2 ratio to (1) usual care, (2) a mailed letter with a signed order for an ultrasound, or (3) a mailed letter with an order and a $20 unconditional incentive. The main outcome was the proportion with completion of ultrasound within 6 months.

RESULTS

Among the 562 patients included, the mean age was 62.1 (SD 11.1); 56.8% were male, 51.1% had Medicare, and 40.6% were Black. At 6 months, 27.6% (95% CI: 19.5-35.7) completed ultrasound in the Usual care arm, 54.5% (95% CI: 47.9-61.0) in the Letter + Order arm, and 54.1% (95% CI: 47.5-60.6) in the Letter + Order + Incentive arm. There was a significant increase in the Letter + Order arm compared to Usual care (absolute difference of 26.9%; 95% CI: 16.5-37.3; p<0.001), but no significant increase in the Letter + Order + Incentive arm compared to Letter + Order (absolute difference of -0.4; 95% CI: -9.7 to 8.8; p=0.93).

CONCLUSIONS

There was an increase in HCC surveillance from mailed outreach with opt-out framing and a signed order slip, but no increase in response to the financial incentive.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance: Evidence-Based Tailored Approach

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is recommended by professional society guidelines given a consistent association with reduced HCC-related mortality. HCC surveillance should be performed using semiannual abdominal ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein, although this combination has suboptimal sensitivity and can miss more than one-third of HCC at an early stage. There are promising emerging blood-based and imaging-based strategies, including abbreviated MRI and biomarker panels; however, these require further validation before routine use in clinical practice. HCC surveillance is underused in clinical practice due to patient-related and provider-related barriers, highlighting a need for interventions to improve surveillance utilization in clinical practice.

Effectiveness of a nurse-led decision counselling programme on hepatocellular carcinoma screening uptake among patients with hepatitis B: A randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The globally endemic hepatocellular carcinoma induced by hepatitis B highlights the need for an ultrasonography-based screening strategy to reduce the tumour burden. However, patient non-adherence due to unawareness and complex decisions in weighting uncertainties of hepatocellular carcinoma screening has continuously challenged its continuum.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effectiveness and process of a nurse-led decision counselling programme for improving hepatocellular carcinoma screening among patients with hepatitis B.

DESIGN

Single-blind randomised controlled trial.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Between 12 March and 19 July 2021, 178 patients with hepatitis B were recruited from six inpatient wards of a university-affiliated hospital in northern China.

METHODS

Participants were randomly allocated to receive usual care (n = 89) or usual care plus a nurse-led decision counselling programme (n = 89). Underpinned by the preventive health model, the programme consisted of health education, tailored information, and values clarification exercises to elicit informed and value-based preferences for hepatocellular carcinoma screening. Screening barriers were explored and addressed through procedural problem-solving. Hepatocellular carcinoma screening rate at six months post-baseline was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes (knowledge, perceptions, and decision conflicts regarding hepatocellular carcinoma screening) were measured at baseline (T0), immediately after the intervention (T1), and the six-month follow-up (T2). A Medical Research Council framework-guided process evaluation was conducted by drawing on data from intervention documentation, WeChat discussions, and interviews with stakeholders (n = 13).

RESULTS

With a mean age of 47.32 (8.78) years, participants mostly occupied rural residences (63.5 %). Compared with the control group, the intervention group had significantly higher hepatocellular carcinoma screening rates (75.6 % vs. 42.1 %, p < 0.001) and displayed greater improvements in the scores of hepatocellular carcinoma screening knowledge (β = 3.643, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 3.030, 4.255), salience and coherence (β = 0.410, 95 % CI = 0.234, 0.586), response efficacy (β = 0.327, 95 % CI = 0.181, 0.473), and perceived susceptibility (β = 0.214, 95 % CI = 0.040, 0.388) at T1. Improvement in perceived susceptibility was not maintained, whereas a higher decrease of the decision conflict score was found at T2 (β = -4.156, 95 % CI = -7.851, -0.461). The process evaluation revealed potential intervention mechanisms and contextual factors affecting intervention effectiveness, such as living status and natural disasters.

CONCLUSION

The programme was effective in improving hepatocellular carcinoma screening and showed that nurses could play a decision counselling role in optimising the screening among patients with hepatitis B.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.govNCT04659005. Registration date: 9 December, 2020.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

Nurse-led decision counselling improves hepatocellular carcinoma screening in patients with hepatitis B.

Role of exosomes in the development, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer. It is characterized by occult onset resulting in most patients being diagnosed at advanced stages and with poor prognosis. Exosomes are nanoscale vesicles with a lipid bilayer envelope released by various cells under physiological and pathological conditions, which play an important role in the biological information transfer between cells. There is growing evidence that HCC cell-derived exosomes may contribute to the establishment of a favorable microenvironment that supports cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. These exosomes not only provide a versatile platform for diagnosis but also serve as a vehicle for drug delivery. In this paper, we review the role of exosomes involved in the proliferation, migration, and metastasis of HCC and describe their application in HCC diagnosis and treatment. We also discuss the prospects of exosome application in HCC and the research challenges.

Care for Vulnerable Populations with Chronic Liver Disease: A Safety-Net Perspective

Safety-net hospitals (SNHs) and facilities are the cornerstone of healthcare services for the medically underserved. The burden of chronic liver disease-including end-stage manifestations of cirrhosis and liver cancer-is high and rising among populations living in poverty who primarily seek and receive care in safety-net settings. For many reasons related to social determinants of health, these individuals often present with delayed diagnoses and disease presentations, resulting in higher liver-related mortality. With recent state-based policy changes such as Medicaid expansion that impact access to insurance and critical health services, an overview of the body of literature on SNH care for chronic liver disease is timely and informative for the liver disease community. In this narrative review, we discuss controversies in the definition of a SNH and summarize the known disparities in the cascade of the care and management of common liver-related conditions: (1) steatotic liver disease, (2) liver cancer, (3) chronic viral hepatitis, and (4) cirrhosis and liver transplantation. In addition, we review the specific impact of Medicaid expansion on safety-net systems and liver disease outcomes and highlight effective provider- and system-level interventions. Lastly, we address remaining gaps and challenges to optimizing care for vulnerable populations with chronic liver disease in safety-net settings.

The Pro-Tumor Biological Function of IL-36α Plays an Important Role in the Tumor Microenvironment of HCC

Purpose

To investigate the role of IL-36 in the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). IL-36 composed of a natural antagonist (IL-36Ra) and three agonists (IL-36α, -β, -γ) that stimulate inflammation by binding to a common receptor consisting of IL-36R and IL-1RAcP. HCC is a common malignancy associated with high morbidity and mortality, often diagnosed at later stages. Although the exact role of IL-36α in HCC remains controversial, it is hypothesized that it may play a significant role in the development and progression of this cancer.

Materials and Methods

In the current study, we measured both circulating and intrahepatic levels of IL-36α from HCC patients and healthy controls, using ELISA. The association between IL-36 and the differentiation of HCC was determined. Furthermore, the role IL-36 in both HCC and non-HCC cell lines was evaluated in vitro.

Results

Circulating and intra-hepatic IL-36α was inversely correlated with differentiation of HCC, suggesting that IL-36α contribute to protection during the development of HCC. Based on bioinformatics, miR-27b-3p is closely related to downstream IL-36α. Thus, we determined miR-27b-3p expression in HCC tissues, showing upregulated miR-27b-3p was inversely correlated with IL-36α in HCC, perhaps via CXCL1 in HCC cells. It was confirmed that IL-36α inhibited HCC proliferation, viability and migration in vitro, consistent with reduced the expression of cytokines IL-1β, IL-18, implying that IL-36α inhibited the possible involvement of pyroptosis.

Conclusion

Our data suggests that IL-36α may be a potential therapeutic target and a prediction biomarker for the management of HCC.

Addressing racial and ethnic disparities in US liver cancer care

HCC, the most common form of primary liver cancer, is the fastest rising cause of cancer-related death in the United States. HCC disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. A practical framework is needed to organize the complex patient, provider, health system, and societal factors that drive these racial and ethnic disparities. In this narrative review, we adapted and applied the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Framework to the HCC care continuum, as a step toward better understanding and addressing existing HCC-related disparities. We first summarize the literature on HCC-related disparities by race and ethnicity organized by the framework's 5 domains (biological, behavioral, physical/built environment, sociocultural environment, and health care system) and 4 levels (individual, interpersonal, community, and societal) of influence. We then offer strategies to guide future research initiatives toward promotion of health equity in HCC care. Clinicians and researchers may help mitigate further inequities and better address racial and ethnic disparities in HCC care by prioritizing the following in HCC research: (1) increasing racial and ethnic minority representation, (2) collecting and reporting HCC-related data by racial and ethnic subgroups, (3) assessing the patient experience of HCC care by race and ethnicity, and (4) evaluating HCC-specific social determinants of health by race and ethnicity. These 4 priorities will help inform the development of future programs and interventions that are tailored to the unique experiences of each racial and ethnic group.

Over-expression of RRM2 predicts adverse prognosis correlated with immune infiltrates: A potential biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

Ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 (RRM2) has been reported to be an oncogene in some malignant tumors, such as lung adenocarcinoma, oral squamous cell carcinoma, glioblastoma, and breast cancer. However, the clinical significance of RRM2 in hepatocellular carcinoma has been less studied. The aim of this study was to assess the importance of RRM2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.

Methods

The RRM2 expression levels and clinical features were downloaded from the TCGA database. Immunohistochemistry results between tumor tissues and normal tissues were downloaded from the Proteinatlas database. Meanwhile, the expression levels of RRM2 in tumor and paraneoplastic tissues were further verified by qRT-PCR and Western Blotting. Gene Ontology (GO)/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and protein-protein-interactions (PPI) network were constructed to analyze RRM2-related downstream molecules. In addition, RRM2 expression-related pathways performed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Association analysis of RRM2 gene expression and immune infiltration was performed by single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA).

Results

The RRM2 expression level in tumor tissues was higher than normal tissues (P &lt;0.001). The elevated expression of RRM2 in HCC was significantly correlated with T stage (P &lt;0.05), pathologic stage (P &lt;0.05), tumor status (P &lt;0.05), histologic grade (P&lt;0.001), and AFP (P &lt;0.001). HCC with higher RRM2 expression was positively associated with worse OS (overall survival), PFS (progression-free survival), and DSS (disease-specific survival). In the univariate analysis, the expression of RRM2, T stage, M stage, pathologic stage, and tumor status were negatively correlated with OS (P &lt;0.05). Further analysis using multivariate Cox regression showed that tumor status (P&lt;0.01) and RRM2 expression (P&lt;0.05) were independent prognostic factors of OS in HCC. GO/KEGG analysis showed that the critical biological process (chromosome condensation and p53 signaling pathway) might be the possible function mechanism in promoting HCC. Moreover, GSEA showed that several pathways were enriched in RRM2 high-expression samples, including PD-1 signaling, cell cycle, P27 pathway, and T cell receptor signaling pathway. RRM2 was significantly correlated with the infiltration level of CD8 T cells, Cytotoxic cells, DCs, Neutrophils, NK cells, and T helper cells (P &lt;0.05).

Conclusion

Over-expression of RRM2 predict adverse prognosis and is correlated with immune infiltrates in HCC. RRM2 may be a significant molecular biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognosis.

Adherence to guideline-directed hepatocellular carcinoma screening: A single-center US experience

BACKGROUND

The American Association for the Study of Liver Disease recommends screening patients with cirrhosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using imaging with or without alpha-fetoprotein every six months. Unfortunately, screening rates remain inadequate.

AIM

To assess root causes of screening failure in a subspecialty hepatology clinic.

METHODS

The authors identified patients with cirrhosis seen in a subspecialty hepatology clinic and determined whether they underwent appropriate screening, defined as two cross-sectional images between five and seven months apart. The authors characterized the primary driver of screening failure. Finally, other hepatologists were surveyed to determine provider perceptions of screening failure causes.

RESULTS

1034 patients were identified with an average age of 61 years and a mean MELD of 8.1 ± 3.8. Hepatitis C virus was the most common cirrhosis etiology. 489 (47%) underwent appropriate screening. No demographic or clinical differences were detected between those who underwent appropriate screening and those who did not. The most common etiologies of screening failure, in descending order, were: radiology unable to schedule timely imaging, provider did not order imaging, patient canceled follow up appointment, appointments scheduled too far apart, lost to follow up, no-show to radiology appointment, and provider canceled appointment. Hepatologists surveyed believed the most common cause of screening failure was no-show to radiology.

CONCLUSION

Rates of screening were poor even in a subspecialty hepatology clinic. Screening failure was mostly due to systemic factors such as radiology availability and time between hepatology appointments rather than individual error.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), one of the most common causes of liver disease, is an increasingly common cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Several demographic, clinical, and genetic factors contribute to HCC risk in NAFLD patients, which may inform risk stratification scores. Proven efficacious approaches to primary prevention approach in patients with non-viral liver disease remain an area of need. Semi-annual surveillance is associated with improved early tumor detection and reduced HCC-related mortality; however, patients with NAFLD have several challenges to effective surveillance, including under-recognition of at-risk patients, low surveillance utilization in clinical practice, and lower sensitivity of current tools for early-stage HCC detection. Treatment decisions are best made in a multidisciplinary fashion and are informed by several factors including tumor burden, liver dysfunction, performance status, and patient preferences. Although patients with NAFLD often have larger tumor burden and increased comorbidities compared to counterparts, they can achieve similar post-treatment survival with careful patient selection. Therefore, surgical therapies continue to provide a curative treatment option for patients diagnosed at an early stage. Although there has been debate about the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with NAFLD, current data are insufficient to change treatment selection based on liver disease etiology.

Utilization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance Programs in Patients With Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Patients with cirrhosis are advised to undergo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance every 6 months. Routine surveillance is associated with early tumor detection and improved survival. However, surveillance is underutilized. We aimed to characterize the uptake of HCC surveillance in cirrhotic patients following the implementation of interventional programs. We performed a comprehensive literature search of major databases (from inception to October 2020). Surveillance was defined as having an abdominal sonogram every 6 months. Nine studies were included for meta-analysis which involved 4550 patients. The etiology of liver cirrhosis was largely due to hepatitis C or B (n=2023), followed by alcohol (n=857), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (n=432). Patients enrolled in surveillance programs were 6 times more likely to undergo abdominal sonography when compared with standard of care (odds ratio=6.00; 95% confidence interval: 3.35-10.77). On subgroup analysis, clinical reminders were associated with a 4 times higher rate of HCC surveillance compared with standard of care (odds ratio=3.80; 95% confidence interval: 2.25-6.39). Interventional programs significantly improve the rate of HCC surveillance. This is clinically impactful and should be considered as a means for improving surveillance rates.

Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial of a Mailed Outreach Strategy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance

BACKGROUND

The effectiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is mitigated by underuse in clinical practice, highlighting a need for interventions. We evaluated the effectiveness of mailed HCC surveillance outreach to promote HCC surveillance in patients with cirrhosis.

METHODS

We conducted a multicenter pragmatic randomized clinical trial comparing mailed outreach for surveillance ultrasound (n = 1436) and usual care with visit-based surveillance (n = 1436) among patients with cirrhosis at 3 health systems (tertiary care referral center, safety net health system, and Veterans Affairs medical center) from April 2018 to December 2019. The primary outcome of this interim analysis was guideline concordant semiannual HCC surveillance over a 12-month period and a secondary outcome was proportion time covered by surveillance. All patients were included in intention-to-screen analyses.

RESULTS

Compared with usual care, the outreach arm had significantly higher semiannual surveillance (35.1% vs 21.9%) and lower no-surveillance (29.8% vs 43.5%) (P < .001), resulting in significant increases in the proportion of time covered by surveillance (41.3% vs 31.0%; P < .001). The intervention increased HCC surveillance across most predefined subgroups; however, there were site-level differences in the intervention effect, with significant increases in semiannual surveillance at the Veterans Affairs and safety net health systems but not at the tertiary care referral center.

CONCLUSIONS

Mailed outreach significantly increased semiannual HCC surveillance vs usual care in patients with cirrhosis, with a consistent intervention effect across most examined subgroups. Continued follow-up is ongoing to determine if these increases in surveillance translate into improved downstream outcomes includi.ng early HCC detection and curative treatment receipt. (ClinicalTrials.gov, Numbers: NCT02582918 and NCT03756051).

Novel Application of Predictive Modeling: A Tailored Approach to Promoting HCC Surveillance in Patients With Cirrhosis

OBJECTIVE

There has been increased interest in interventions to promote hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance given low utilization and high proportions of late stage detection. Accurate prediction of patients likely versus unlikely to respond to interventions could allow a cost-effective approach to outreach and facilitate targeting more intensive interventions to likely non-responders.

DESIGN

We conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial evaluating a mailed outreach strategy to promote HCC surveillance among 1200 cirrhosis patients at a safety-net health system between December 2014 and March 2017. We developed regularized logistic regression (RLR) and gradient boosting machine (GBM) algorithm models to predict surveillance completion during each of the 3 screening rounds in a training set (n = 960). Model performance was assessed using multiple performance metrics in an independent test set (n = 240).

RESULTS

Among 1200 patients, surveillance was completed in 41-47% of patients over the three rounds. The RLR and GBM models demonstrated good discriminatory accuracy, with area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves of 0.67 and 0.66 respectively in the first surveillance round and improved to 0.77 by the third surveillance round after incorporating prior screening behavior as a feature. Additional performance characteristics including the Brier score, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and reliability diagrams were also evaluated. The most important variables for the predictive model were prior screening completion status and past primary care contact.

CONCLUSIONS

Predictive models can help stratify patients' likelihood to respond to surveillance outreach invitations, facilitating tailored strategies to maximize effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of HCC surveillance population health programs.

Barriers to Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Multicenter Cohort

Importance

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is underused in clinical practice, which may be owing to patient and clinician barriers.

Objective

To characterize HCC surveillance barriers and associations with clinical outcomes in a multicenter cohort of patients with cirrhosis.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included 5 medical centers in the United States. Patients with cirrhosis and newly diagnosed HCC treated from 2014 to 2018 were included. Data were analyzed from June 2021 to February 2022.

Exposure

Surveillance completion in the 36-month period prior to HCC diagnosis.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Surveillance receipt was classified as semiannual, annual, or no surveillance. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with semiannual surveillance. We conducted multivariable logistic and Cox regression analyses to characterize associations between surveillance completion with curative treatment and overall survival.

Results

A total 629 eligible patients (median [IQR] age, 63.6 [56.2-71.0] years; 491 [78.1%] men) were assessed, including 7 American Indian or Alaska Native patients (1.1%), 14 Asian patients (2.2), 176 Black patients (28.0%), 86 Hispanic patients (13.1%), and 340 White patients (54.1%). Nearly two-thirds of the cohort had no surveillance prior to HCC diagnosis (mean [range by site] 63.7% [37.9%-80.4%]), with a mean (range by site) of 14.0% (5.3%-33.3%) of patients having received semiannual surveillance and 22.3% (14.3%-28.8%) of patients having received annual surveillance. The most common reasons for no surveillance were lack of surveillance orders or nonadherence (mean [range by site], 82.4% [66.7%-92.4%], although a mean (range by site) of 17.6% (10.2%-22.1%) of patients had unrecognized cirrhosis at HCC presentation. Semiannual surveillance was associated with hepatitis B infection (odds ratio [OR], 3.06 [95% CI, 1.24-7.23]) and inversely associated with Black race (OR, 0.41 [95% CI, 0.20-0.80]) and lack of cirrhosis recognition (OR, 0.14 [95% CI, 0.02-0.46]). Semiannual HCC surveillance was significantly associated with curative treatment receipt (OR, 2.73 [95% CI, 1.60-4.70]) but not overall survival (HR, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.55-1.18]).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cohort study of patients with cirrhosis, HCC surveillance was underused in more than 80% of patients and associated with failures across the screening process. Dedicated programs to improve cirrhosis detection and HCC surveillance attainment are needed.

Multi-material basis and multi-mechanisms of the Dahuang Zhechong pill for regulating Treg/Th1 balance in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Dahuang Zhechong pill (DHZCP) improves the inhibitory immune status of mice with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regulating Treg/Th1 balance.

HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE

To study the multi-material basis and multi-mechanisms of DHZCP against HCC by regulating Treg/Th1 balance in vitro and in vivo.

METHODS

UPLC-MS/MS was used to detect the dynamic changes in 29 characteristic components of different polar parts of DHZCP. H&E and TUNEL were used to check pathological condition in HCC mice. The number of CD4⁺T, CD8⁺T, Treg, Th1, and Th1-like Treg cells was counted by flow cytometry. TGF-β, IL-10, IFN-γ, and TNF-α content were detected by ELISA. α-Ketoglutarate and glutamine levels were detected by Trace1310/TSQ8000 GC-MS/MS. p-Smad2, and p-Smad3 protein levels were detected by WB, mRNA expression of Smad2, alanine-serine-cysteine transporter-2, glutaminase, and glutamate dehydrogenase were detected by RT-PCR. Simca-p multivariate data analysis software was used to evaluate the relationship between the different polar parts of DHZCP and the proportion of Treg cells.

RESULTS

Water-soluble (PW) and ethyl acetate (PE) polar parts of DHZCP affected the HCC immune system by inhibiting the differentiation of Tregs, reversing the balance of Treg/Th1, and significantly reduced the tumor volume and weight. However, petroleum ether and n-butanol polar parts had no above actions. The changes in emodin, chrysophanol, aloe vera emodin, emodin-8-O-β-D-glycoside, gallic acid, naringenin, baicalein, wogonin, norwogonin, apigenin, chrysin, glycyrrhizin, formononetin, and palmitic acid were closely related to the changes of Treg cells, which is the main material basis of DHZCP inhibition of Treg differentiation. Additionally, PW mainly inhibit the differentiation of Treg cells by affecting the metabolism of hepatoma cells, improving tumor microenvironment acidity, and glutamine depletion. However, PE inhibited the differentiation of Treg cells mainly by regulating the TGF-β/Smad pathway.

CONCLUSION

In this study, accurate analysis of multi-component was combined with pharmacodynamic evaluations to identify the pharmacodynamic substances of DHZCP in regulating Treg/Th1 balance, and clarified the multi-target mechanism of DHZCP to improve tumor immunity. The study style offers a novel approach for pharmacological research on TCM.

Early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma: roadmap for improvement

INTRODUCTION

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor prognosis, related, in part, to frequent late-stage diagnosis. Improved implementation of effective HCC surveillance is critical to reduce HCC mortality.

AREAS COVERED

We performed a targeted literature review to identify intervention targets for improving HCC surveillance effectiveness, including enriched risk stratification tools, improved surveillance tools with higher accuracy for early HCC detection, and increasing surveillance adherence.

EXPERT OPINION

HCC surveillance has been demonstrated to be efficacious in several cohort studies but has lower surveillance effectiveness in clinical practice. HCC surveillance is currently recommended in all patients with cirrhosis, and improved risk stratification using clinical risk scores, genetic scores, and novel biomarkers are important to move from a 'one-size-fits-all' strategy to one more aligned with values of precision medicine. Current surveillance modalities, ultrasound, and AFP, miss over one-third of HCC at an early stage and are associated with potential surveillance harms, underscoring a need for alternative surveillance strategies with higher accuracy. MRI- and biomarker-based surveillance strategies have promising early data in phase II studies but require validation in phase III cohorts before routine use in practice. Finally, surveillance is underused in clinical practice, highlighting a need for intervention strategies to increase utilization.

Quality measures in HCC care by the Practice Metrics Committee of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

The burden of HCC is substantial. To address gaps in HCC care, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Practice Metrics Committee (PMC) aimed to develop a standard set of process-based measures and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) along the HCC care continuum. We identified candidate process and outcomes measures for HCC care based on structured literature review. A 13-member panel with content expertise across the HCC care continuum evaluated candidate measures on importance and performance gap using a modified Delphi approach (two rounds of rating) to define the final set of measures. Candidate PROs based on a structured scoping review were ranked by 74 patients with HCC across 7 diverse institutions. Out of 135 measures, 29 measures made the final set. These covered surveillance (6 measures), diagnosis (6 measures), staging (2 measures), treatment (10 measures), and outcomes (5 measures). Examples included the use of ultrasound (± alpha-fetoprotein [AFP]) every 6 months, need for surveillance in high-risk populations, diagnostic testing for patients with a new AFP elevation, multidisciplinary liver tumor board (MLTB) review of Liver Imaging-Reporting and Data System 4 lesions, standard evaluation at diagnosis, treatment recommendations based on Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging, MLTB discussion of treatment options, appropriate referral for evaluation of liver transplantation candidacy, and role of palliative therapy. PROs include those related to pain, anxiety, fear of treatment, and uncertainty about the best individual treatment and the future. The AASLD PMC has developed a set of explicit quality measures in HCC care to help bridge the gap between guideline recommendations and measurable processes and outcomes. Measurement and subsequent implementation of these metrics could be a central step in the improvement of patient care and outcomes in this high-risk population.

Geographic hotspot detection for late-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: novel approach to cancer control

IMPORTANCE

As hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-associated mortality continues to rise in the United States, there is a crucial need for strategies to shift diagnoses from late to early stage in order to improve survival.

OBJECTIVE

To describe a population-based geospatial approach to identifying areas with high late-stage HCC burden for intervention.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study between 2008 and 2017.

SETTING

Los Angeles County.

PARTICIPANTS

All incident cases of HCC with residential address at diagnosis in Los Angeles County were identified from a population-based cancer registry. Late stage included AJCC 7th Edition stages III-IV and unstaged cases.

EXPOSURE

Sociodemographic factors.

MAIN OUTCOME(S)

Geographic "hotspots" or areas with a high density of late-stage HCC, identified using kernel density estimation in ArcMap 10.3.1.

RESULTS

51.8% of 7,519 incident cases of HCC were late stage. We identified a total of 23 late-stage hotspots, including 30.0% of all late-stage cases. Cases within hotspots were more often racial/ethnic minorities, foreign-born, under or uninsured, and of lower socioeconomic status. The age-adjusted incidence rate of late-stage HCC was twofold higher within hotspots (6.85 per 100,000 in hotspots vs 3.38 per 100,000 outside of hotspots). The calculated population-attributable risk was 43%, suggesting that a substantial proportion of late-stage HCC burden could be averted by introducing interventions in hotspot areas. We mapped the relationship between hotspots and federally qualified health centers primary care clinics and subspecialty clinics in Los Angeles County to demonstrate how clinic partnerships can be selected to maximize impact of interventions and resource use. Hotspots can also be utilized to identify "high-risk" neighborhoods that are easily recognizable by patients and the public and to facilitate community partnerships.

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE

Reducing late-stage HCC through geographic late-stage hotspots may be an efficient approach to improving cancer control and equity.

Patient Race or Ethnicity and the Use of Diagnostic Imaging: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE

To summarize the existing literature evaluating differences in imaging use based on patient race and ethnicity.

METHODS

The authors performed a structured search of four databases for the dates January 1, 2000, to April 13, 2021, using key words and derivatives focused on imaging and patient race. Retrieved citations were reviewed by abstract and then full text to identify articles that evaluated the likelihood of imaging use by patient race or ethnicity controlling for sociodemographic factors. Data regarding publication characteristics, study population, clinical setting, and results was extracted and summarized.

RESULTS

The structured search identified 2,938 articles of which 206 met inclusion criteria. Most studies (87%, 179 of 206) were conducted in the United States, and the majority (72%, 149 of 206) found decreased or inappropriate imaging use in minority groups. Breast cancer screening was the most common clinical setting (50%, 104 of 206), followed by cancer care (10%, 21 of 206) and general imaging use (9%, 19 of 206). Government-administered surveys were the most common data source (40%, 82 of 206). Only a small minority of studies (8%, 17 of 206) evaluated strategies to mitigate the unequal use of imaging based on patient race and ethnicity.

DISCUSSION

The existing literature shows decreased or inappropriate use of diagnostic imaging for minority patients across a wide variety of clinical settings. Although the number of articles on the topic is large, the majority are clustered around specific topics, and few articles evaluate potential strategies to reduce the inequitable use of diagnostic imaging.

Conceptual Model for the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening Continuum: Current Status and Research Agenda

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) continues to have a dismal prognosis, with 5-year survival below 20%. This poor prognosis can be in part attributed to failures along the cancer screening process continuum such as underuse of screening in at risk patients and appropriate treatments for patients with HCC. Better understanding these process failures, and how they compare to those seen in other cancer types, can help inform potential intervention targets and strategies to reduce HCC-related mortality. Herein, we outline a conceptual model with several discrete steps in the HCC screening process continuum including risk assessment, screening initiation, follow-up of screening results, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment evaluation. The conceptual model illustrates how each step in the screening process is prone to delays or failure, resulting in worse outcomes such as late stage diagnosis or poor survival, and how factors at the patient, provider, and health care system levels can contribute to these failures. We compare cancer screening processes for HCC with those employed in breast and colorectal cancer screening to identify opportunities for improvement. The Translational Liver Cancer consortium was recently established by the National Cancer Institute with the goal of improving early detection of HCC. Studies designed to address failures in the HCC screening process continuum will help accomplish this goal.

Provider Attitudes Toward Risk-Based Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance in Patients With Cirrhosis in the United States

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance rates are suboptimal in clinical practice. We aimed to elicit providers' opinions on the following aspects of HCC surveillance: preferred strategies, barriers and facilitators, and the impact of a patient's HCC risk on the choice of surveillance modality.

METHODS

We conducted a web-based survey among gastroenterology and hepatology providers (40% faculty physicians, 21% advanced practice providers, 39% fellow-trainees) from 26 US medical centers in 17 states.

RESULTS

Of 654 eligible providers, 305 (47%) completed the survey. Nearly all (98.4%) of the providers endorsed semi-annual HCC surveillance in patients with cirrhosis, with 84.2% recommending ultrasound ± alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and 15.4% recommending computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Barriers to surveillance included limited HCC treatment options, screening test effectiveness to reduce mortality, access to transportation, and high out-of-pocket costs. Facilitators of surveillance included professional society guidelines. Most providers (72.1%) would perform surveillance even if HCC risk was low (≤0.5% per year), while 98.7% would perform surveillance if HCC risk was ≥1% per year. As a patient's HCC risk increased from 1% to 3% to 5% per year, providers reported they would be less likely to order ultrasound ± AFP (83.6% to 68.9% to 57.4%; P < .001) and more likely to order CT or MRI ± AFP (3.9% to 26.2% to 36.1%; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Providers recommend HCC surveillance even when HCC risk is much lower than the threshold suggested by professional societies. Many appear receptive to risk-based HCC surveillance strategies that depend on patients' estimated HCC risk, instead of our current "one-size-fits all" strategy.

Benefits and Harms of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance in a Prospective Cohort of Patients With Cirrhosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

The value of a cancer screening programs is defined by its balance of benefits and harms; however, there are few data evaluating both attributes for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance. We aimed to characterize benefits and harms of HCC surveillance in a large prospective cohort of patients with cirrhosis.

METHODS

We conducted a secondary analysis of a clinical trial evaluating HCC surveillance among patients with cirrhosis at a safety-net health system enrolled between December 2014 and July 2015. We quantified surveillance-related benefits, defined as early HCC detection and curative treatment receipt, and physical harms, defined as diagnostic procedures for false positive or indeterminate results, over an 18-month period.

RESULTS

Of 614 cirrhosis patients with ≥1 surveillance exam, abnormal results were observed in 118 (19.2%) patients. Twenty-six patients developed HCC during follow-up, of whom 16 (61.5%) were detected by surveillance. The proportion of HCC detected at BCLC stage 0/A (62.5% vs 50%, p = .69) and who underwent curative treatment (43.8% vs. 40.0%, p = 1.0) did not significantly differ between surveillance-detected patients and those diagnosed incidentally/symptomatically. Physical harms were observed in 54 (8.8%) patients who underwent surveillance - most of mild severity with only 1 diagnostic CT or MRI and none undergoing invasive testing such as biopsy. Incidental findings on follow-up imaging were found in 40 (6.5%) patients -23 of low clinical importance and 17 medium clinical importance.

CONCLUSIONS

In our cohort of patients with cirrhosis, HCC surveillance was associated with high early tumor detection and minimal physical harms.

Focused Education Increases Hepatocellular Cancer Screening in Patients with Cirrhosis Regardless of Functional Health Literacy

BACKGROUND

Health education interventions are successful in modifying lifestyle. Functional health literacy (FHL) can determine patient adherence to clinic visits and procedures and may adversely impact the success of these interventions.

AIMS

We sought to evaluate the hypothesis that a health education intervention would improve compliance with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) screening and that poor FHL would reduce such compliance.

METHODS

We assessed FHL using a short version test of functional health literacy in adults (STOFHLA). Cirrhotic patients free of HCC were prospectively enrolled from clinics and provided an educational intervention consisting of focused physician-led discussion regarding cirrhosis and HCC, along with written material on these topics for the subject to review at home. Patients were subsequently followed for 6 months (prospective time period), and the same cohort's clinic/HCC screening behavior between 6 and 12 months prior to the educational intervention (retrospective time period) was compared.

RESULTS

In total, 104 cirrhotic patients (age 60.01 ± 8.58 years, 80% men, MELD 12.70 ± 5.76) were included. Of these, 89 (85.57%) of patients had educational level 12th grade and higher. There were 76% (n = 79) with adequate, while 24% (n = 25) had inadequate/marginal FHL on S-TOHFLA. The number of HCC-related imaging increased from 59 (56.7%) to 86 (82.6%, p < 0.0001) post-education in the prospective compared to prior time period which was similar regardless of FHL.

CONCLUSIONS

While the educational intervention was successful in improving compliance with HCC screenings, FHL status did not impact the power of this intervention. Hence, the combination of specific verbal information, along with targeted written material, improved compliance with clinic visits and liver imaging for HCC.

Strategies to Improve Delivery of Cirrhosis Care

Purpose of review

This review provides an overview of the current state of research around improving healthcare delivery for patients with cirrhosis in the outpatient, inpatient, and transitional care settings.

Recent findings

Recent studies have broadly employed changes to the model of care delivery, team composition, and technology to improve cirrhosis care. In the outpatient setting, approaches have included engaging caregivers, patient navigators, and non-physicians and using virtual care, smartphone applications, and wearables. Inpatient care approaches have focused on the role of interdisciplinary teams, education interventions, and changes to the medical record system, while post-discharge interventions have included day hospitals and care coordinator interventions. This review also describes the Veterans Health Administration's novel, population-level approach to delivery of cirrhosis care, and addressed how the pandemic has impacted the delivery of cirrhosis care.

Summary

Comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to delivering high-quality cirrhosis care continue to evolve to meet the needs of a growing population in an ever-changing healthcare environment.

Randomized Clinical Trial of Inreach With or Without Mailed Outreach to Promote Hepatitis C Screening in a Difficult-to-Reach Patient Population

INTRODUCTION

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment can significantly reduce the risk of liver-related mortality; however, many patients remain unaware of their infection in clinical practice. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of inreach, with and without mailed outreach, to increase HCV screening and follow-up in a large, difficult-to-reach patient population.

METHODS

We conducted a pragmatic randomized clinical trial from August 2018 to May 2019 in a large safety-net health system. Patients born between 1945 and 1965 were randomly assigned (1:1) to inreach with an electronic health record reminder to providers (n = 6,195) or inreach plus mailed HCV screening outreach (n = 6,191) to complete HCV antibody screening. Outreach also included processes to promote HCV RNA testing among those with a positive HCV antibody and linkage to care among those with positive HCV RNA. The primary outcome was completion of HCV antibody testing within 3 months of randomization (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03706742).

RESULTS

We included 12,386 eligible patients (median age 60 years; 46.5% Hispanic, 33.0% Black, and 16.0% White). In intent-to-treat analyses, HCV screening completion was significantly higher among inreach-plus-outreach patients than inreach-alone patients at 3 months (14.6% vs 7.4%, P < 0.001) and 6 months (17.4% vs 9.8%, P < 0.001) after randomization. Among those who completed HCV screening within 6 months, a higher proportion of inreach-plus-outreach patients with positive antibody results completed RNA testing within 3 months than inreach-alone patients (81.1% vs 57.1%, respectively, P = 0.02); however, linkage to care within 3 months of HCV infection confirmation did not significantly differ between the 2 groups (48.1% vs 75.0%, respectively, P = 0.24).

DISCUSSION

Among difficult-to-reach patients, a combination of inreach and mailed outreach significantly increased HCV screening compared with inreach alone. However, HCV screening completion in both arms remained low, highlighting a need for more intensive interventions.

Patient-Reported Barriers Are Associated With Receipt of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance in a Multicenter Cohort of Patients With Cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

More than 20% of patients with cirrhosis do not receive semi-annual hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance as recommended. Few studies have evaluated the effects of patient-level factors on surveillance receipt.

METHODS

We administered a telephone survey to a large cohort of patients with cirrhosis from 3 health systems (a tertiary care referral center, a safety-net health system, and Veterans Affairs) to characterize patient knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers of HCC surveillance. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with HCC surveillance receipt (semi-annual and annual vs none) during the 12-month period preceding survey administration.

RESULTS

Of 2871 patients approached, 1020 (35.5%) completed the survey. Patients had high levels of concern about developing HCC and high levels of knowledge about HCC. However, patients had knowledge deficits, including believing surveillance was unnecessary when physical examination and laboratory results were normal. Nearly half of patients reported barriers to surveillance, including costs (28.9%), difficulty scheduling (24.1%), and transportation (17.8%). In the year before the survey, 745 patients (73.1%) received 1 or more surveillance examination; 281 received on-schedule, semi-annual surveillance and 464 received annual surveillance. Semi-annual HCC surveillance (vs none) was significantly associated with receipt of hepatology subspecialty care (odds ratio, 30.1; 95% CI, 17.5-51.8) and inversely associated with patient-reported barriers (odds ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.41-0.94). Patterns of associations comparing annual vs no surveillance were similar although the magnitude of effects were reduced.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient-reported barriers such as knowledge deficits, costs, difficulty scheduling, and transportation are significantly associated with less frequent receipt of HCC surveillance, indicating a need for patient-centered interventions, such as patient navigation.

Use of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance in Patients With Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is associated with early tumor detection and improved survival; however, it is often underused in clinical practice. We aimed to characterize surveillance use among patients with cirrhosis and the efficacy of interventions to increase surveillance.

APPROACH AND RESULTS

We performed a systematic literature review using the MEDLINE database from January 2010 through August 2018 to identify cohort studies evaluating HCC surveillance receipt or interventions to increase surveillance in patients with cirrhosis. A pooled estimate for surveillance receipt with 95% confidence intervals was calculated. Correlates of surveillance use were defined from each study and prespecified subgroup analyses. Twenty-nine studies, with a total of 118,799 patients, met inclusion criteria, with a pooled estimate for surveillance use of 24.0% (95% confidence interval, 18.4-30.1). In subgroup analyses, the highest surveillance receipt was reported in studies with patients enrolled from subspecialty gastroenterology/hepatology clinics and lowest in studies characterizing surveillance in population-based cohorts (73.7% versus 8.8%, P < 0.001). Commonly reported correlates of surveillance included higher receipt among patients followed by subspecialists and lower receipt among those with alcohol-associated or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related cirrhosis. All eight studies (n = 5,229) evaluating interventions including patient/provider education, inreach (e.g., reminder and recall systems), and population health outreach strategies reported significant increases (range 9.4%-63.6%) in surveillance receipt.

CONCLUSIONS

HCC surveillance remains underused in clinical practice, particularly among patients with alcohol-associated or NASH-related cirrhosis and those not followed in subspecialty gastroenterology clinics. Interventions such as provider education, inreach including reminder systems, and population health outreach efforts can significantly increase HCC surveillance.

Understanding Gaps in the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cascade of Care: Opportunities to Improve Hepatocellular Carcinoma Outcomes

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Existing studies have highlighted significant disparities in HCC outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations, including ethnic minorities, safety-net populations, underinsured patients, and those with low socioeconomic status and high risk behaviors. The majority of these studies have focused on HCC surveillance. Although HCC surveillance is one of the most important first steps in HCC monitoring and management, it is only one step in the complex HCC cascade of care that evolves from surveillance to diagnosis and tumor staging that leads to access to HCC therapies. In this current review, we explore the disparities that exist along this complex HCC cascade of care and further highlight potential interventions that have been implemented to improve HCC outcomes. These interventions focus on patient, provider, and system level factors and provide a potential framework for health systems to implement quality improvement initiatives to improve HCC monitoring and management.

Hepatocellular carcinoma, a unique tumor with a lack of biomarkers

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Interestingly, the great majority of individuals affected by the tumor have underlying liver disease, therefore narrowing the population to be screened. Still, however, there is a clear lack of blood biomarkers, and surveillance in those at risk is performed by frequent imaging of the liver. A variety of multinational collaborations are currently invested in finding biomarkers for HCC based on liver-produced proteins. A new approach with assessment of peripheral proteins might be necessary for the successful early detection of this malignancy.

Role of imaging in management of hepatocellular carcinoma: surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment response

Imaging plays a notable role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment response assessment. Whereas HCC surveillance among at-risk patients, including those with cirrhosis, has traditionally been ultrasound-based, there are increasing data showing that this strategy is operator-dependent and has insufficient sensitivity when used alone. Several novel blood-based and imaging modalities are currently being evaluated to increase sensitivity for early HCC detection. Multi-phase computed tomography (CT) or contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be performed in patients with positive surveillance tests to confirm a diagnosis of HCC and perform cancer staging, as needed. HCC is a unique cancer in that most cases can be diagnosed radiographically without histological confirmation when demonstrating characteristic features such as arterial phase hyperenhancement and delayed phase washout. The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System offers a standardized nomenclature for reporting CT or MRI liver findings among at-risk patients. Finally, cross-sectional imaging plays a critical role for assessing response to any HCC therapy as well as monitoring for HCC recurrence in those who achieve complete response.

IL36 indicating good prognosis in human Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background and Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of cancer death in men before the age of 60 years in China. Interleukin (IL)36 played important roles in antitumor immune responses, but its role in HCC is still unknown. We aimed to explore the correlation between IL36 and prognosis of HCC patients.

Methods: The expression of IL36 was measured by Immunohistochemistry (IHC), serum Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry (FCM). Chi-square test was performed to analyze the relationship between IL36 expression and clinical parameters of HCC patients. The correlation between IL36 expression and prognosis of HCC patients was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis.

Results: The IL36 expression in HCC tumor samples was lower than that in paired peri-tumor samples; the analyses suggested that there was no correlation between IL36 expression and age, gender, and tumor size, but tight relationship between IL36 expression and liver cirrhosis, metastasis and some other clinical parameters. The results of Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated positive expression of IL36 could induce high survival rate of patients. The detection of IL36 with ELISA suggested that expression of IL36 in serum was the highest in patients of HCC, other than the chronic hepatitis patients and the healthy. The result of FCM suggested the expression of IL36 was higher in CD4+ T cells than other immune cells.

Conclusions: There is a close relationship between the expression of IL36 and the prognosis of HCC, higher expression of IL36 suggested better prognosis and longer survival of HCC.

Is hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in high-risk populations effective?

Several professional societies recommend hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance in high-risk patients including patients with cirrhosis from any etiology and subsets of noncirrhotic chronic hepatitis B virus infection. The efficacy of HCC surveillance to increase early detection and improve survival has been demonstrated in a large randomized controlled trial among hepatitis B virus patients and several cohort studies among those with cirrhosis. However, the effectiveness on HCC surveillance, when applied in clinical practice, is lower due to low utilization of HCC surveillance among at-risk patients, poorer test performance given operator dependency and differences in patient characteristics, and downstream process failures such as treatment delays. Interventions to increase surveillance utilization and improve surveillance test performance should improve surveillance effectiveness in the future.

Screening for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in HIV-Infected Patients: Current Evidence and Controversies

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review aims to summarize evidence regarding hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening in the specific context of HIV infection and discuss areas of uncertainty.

RECENT FINDINGS

It has not been definitely established if HCC incidence in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with cirrhosis is above the 1.5%/year threshold that makes screening cost-effective. Outside cirrhosis or HBV infection, available data do not support surveillance. The performance of currently recommended ultrasound (US) screening strategy is poor in HIV-infected patients, as rates of early-stage HCC detection are low. Magnetic resonance imaging-based surveillance strategies or liquid biopsy are innovative approaches that should be specifically tested in this setting. HIV-infected patients with cirrhosis are at risk of HCC. US surveillance identifies patients with early-stage HCC who will benefit of curative therapies, although the quality of the evidence supporting screening remains limited. The HIV population should be a priority group to assess and validate new surveillance strategies.

Association Between Race/Ethnicity and Insurance Status with Outcomes in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Racial/ethnic disparities in prognosis have been reported in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, few studies have evaluated racial/ethnic disparities in the context of insurance status.

AIMS

Characterize racial/ethnic and insurance status in early tumor detection, receipt of curative therapy and overall survival in a multicenter diverse cohort of HCC patients from the USA.

STUDY

We included patients with HCC diagnosed between June 2012 and May 2013 at four centers in the USA. Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to compare early tumor detection (defined using Milan Criteria) and curative treatment receipt (liver transplantation, surgical resection, or local ablation) as a function of patient race/ethnicity and insurance status. A multivariable frailty survival model was used to compare risk of death between patient groups.

RESULTS

Of 379 HCC patients (52.8% non-Hispanic White, 19.5% Hispanic White, 19.8% Black), 46.4% and 48.0% were found at an early stage and underwent curative therapy, respectively, and median overall survival of the cohort was 25.7 months. Early detection of HCC was associated with gastroenterology subspecialty care and receipt of HCC surveillance but not race/ethnicity or insurance status in adjusted models. However, commercial insurance was significantly associated with higher odds of curative treatment receipt, which in turn was the strongest correlate for overall survival. After adjusting for health system and insurance status, race/ethnicity was not associated with curative treatment receipt or overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Insurance status and access to gastroenterology subspecialty care may be important drivers of racial/ethnic disparities in prognosis among HCC patients.

Disparities in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance: Dissecting the Roles of Patient, Provider, and Health System Factors

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and remains one of the most rapidly rising cancers among the US adults. While overall HCC survival is poor, early diagnosis via timely and consistent implementation of routine HCC surveillance among at-risk individuals leads to earlier tumor stage at diagnosis, which is directly correlated with improved options for potentially curative therapies, translating into improved overall survival. Despite this well-established understanding of the benefits of HCC surveillance, surveillance among cirrhosis patients remains suboptimal in a variety of practice settings. While the exact reasons underlying the unacceptably low rates of routine HCC surveillance are complex, it likely reflects multifactorial contributions at the patient, provider, and health care system levels. Furthermore, these multilevel challenges affect ethnic minorities disproportionately, which is particularly concerning given that ethnic minorities already experience existing barriers in timely access to consistent medical care, and these populations are disproportionately affected by HCC burden in the United States. In this review, we provide an updated evaluation of the existing literature on rates of HCC surveillance in the United States. We specifically highlight the existing literature on the impact of patient-specific, provider-specific, and health care system-specific factors in contributing to challenges in effective implementation of HCC surveillance.

Epidemiology and surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma: New trends

The burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highest in East Asia and Africa, although its incidence and mortality are rapidly rising in the United States and Europe. With the implementation of hepatitis B vaccination and hepatitis C treatment programmes worldwide, the epidemiology of HCC is shifting away from a disease predominated by viral hepatitis - an increasing proportion of cases are now attributable to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Surveillance using ultrasound, with or without alpha-fetoprotein, every 6 months has been associated with improved early detection and improved overall survival; however, limitations in implementation lead to a high proportion of HCC being detected at late stages in clinical practice. Herein, we review the current state of HCC surveillance and highlight areas for future research, including improved risk stratification of at-risk patients, surveillance tools with higher sensitivity and specificity for early HCC, and interventions to increase surveillance utilisation.

2019 Update of Indian National Association for Study of the Liver Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri II Recommendations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare expenditure in patients with chronic liver disease in India. The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) had published its first guidelines on diagnosis and management of HCC (The Puri Recommendations) in 2014, and these guidelines were very well received by the healthcare community involved in diagnosis and management of HCC in India and neighboring countries. However, since 2014, many new developments have taken place in the field of HCC diagnosis and management, hence INASL endeavored to update its 2014 consensus guidelines. A new Task Force on HCC was constituted that reviewed the previous guidelines as well as the recent developments in various aspects of HCC that needed to be incorporated in the new guidelines. A 2-day round table discussion was held on 5th and 6th May 2018 at Puri, Odisha, to discuss, debate, and finalize the revised consensus statements. Each statement of the guideline was graded according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation system with minor modifications. We present here the 2019 Update of INASL Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri-2 Recommendations.

The Hispanic Paradox in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis: Current Evidence From a Large Regional Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Despite lower socioeconomic status, Hispanics in the United States paradoxically maintain equal or higher average survival rates compared to non-Hispanic Whites (NHW).

METHODS

We used multivariable Cox regression to assess whether this "Hispanic paradox" applies to patients with liver cirrhosis using a retrospective cohort of twenty 121 patients in a Chicago-wide electronic health record database.

RESULTS

Our study population included 3279 (16%) Hispanics, 9150 (45%) NHW, 4432 (22%) African Americans, 529 (3%) Asians, and 2731 (14%) of other races/ethnic groups. Compared to Hispanics, NHW (hazard ratio [HR] 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-1.37), African American (HR 1.26; 95% CI, 1.15-1.39), and other races/ethnic groups (HR 1.55; 95% CI, 1.40-1.71) had an increased risk of death despite adjustment for age, sex, insurance status, etiology of cirrhosis, and comorbidities. On stratified analyses, a mortality advantage for Hispanics compared to NHW was seen for alcohol cirrhosis (HR for NHW 1.35; 95% CI, 1.19-1.52), hepatitis B (HR for NHW 1.35; 95% CI, 0.98-1.87), hepatitis C (HR for NHW 1.21; 95% CI, 1.06-1.38), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (HR for NHW 1.14; 95% CI, 0.94-1.39). There was no advantage associated with Hispanic race over NHW in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma or cholestatic liver disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Hispanic patients with cirrhosis experience a survival advantage over many other racial groups despite adjustment for multiple covariates.

Management of patients with pre-therapeutic advanced liver fibrosis following HCV eradication

Patients with HCV-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis remain at risk of developing life-threatening complications even after achieving a sustained virological response. Although it is reduced, the risk of liver-related events in these patients justifies their inclusion in surveillance programmes dedicated to the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma and the screening for portal hypertension. Biochemical parameters or non-invasive tests might indicate the potential progression of liver injury despite viral clearance. Specific attention must be focused on the management of comorbidities, while dedicated educational programmes must be encouraged to increase compliance and commitment to surveillance. Better knowledge of the long-term evolution of these patients, who now live longer, is essential to improve risk stratification and refine screening strategies in this growing population.

A Practical Guideline for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening in Patients at Risk

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arises in the context of cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, and the diagnosis is often made at advanced stages. Because early-stage diagnosis improves survival, guidelines recommend screening patients at risk for HCC, such as patients with cirrhosis. However, adherence to screening programs is suboptimal. In this review, we discuss the value of HCC screening and provide practical guidance on patient selection and screening methods. International guidelines concordantly recommend HCC screening in patients with cirrhosis, including patients with HBV infections, hepatitis C virus infections with or without sustained virologic response, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. There is no consensus on screening patients without cirrhosis, although patients with advanced fibrosis, HBV infections, or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease without cirrhosis have an increased risk for development of HCC. Screening for HCC improves early tumor detection, receipt of curative treatment, and overall survival in at-risk patients. However, potential harms of HCC screening have not been well quantified. Semiannual abdominal ultrasonography is the screening modality of choice. Using ultrasonography in combination with biomarkers, such as α-fetoprotein, may increase accuracy for early HCC detection. The use of magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography is limited by cost-effectiveness and practical considerations. Increased awareness of HCC screening will allow for earlier diagnosis and potentially curative treatment. We propose a comprehensive screening algorithm for patients at risk for development of HCC, recommending lifelong, semiannual ultrasonography combined with α-fetoprotein testing in patients with cirrhosis and selected patients without cirrhosis.