hepatocellular carcinoma

Sharon Silverman loves to travel. But after doctors in her hometown of Pensacola, Florida, diagnosed her with hepatocellular carcinoma and told her there were [...]

Hepatocellular carcinoma  Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of primary liver cancer. It occurs most often in people with chronic liver [...]

Liver cancer: An overview  October is Liver Cancer Awareness Month, which makes it a good time to brush up on the facts [...]

Hepatocellular carcinoma Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of primary liver cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma occurs most often in people with chronic liver [...]

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Doctors have known for years that the incidence of deadly liver cancer is on the rise, but what is causing that trend has remained a mystery. Two recent Mayo Clinic studies published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings offer a clearer picture of the rise of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, which has tripled in the U.S. in the last three decades and has a 10 to 12 percent five-year survival rate when detected in later stages.  "The studies illuminate the importance of identifying people with risk factors in certain populations to help catch the disease in its early, treatable stages," said W. Ray Kim, M.D., a specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology and principal investigator of one study. Dr. Kim's research group looked at several decades of records in the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a database that accounts for an entire county's inpatient and outpatient care. The study found the overall incidence of HCC in the population (6.9 per 100,000) is higher than has been estimated for the nation based on data from the National Cancer Institute (5.1 per 100,000). The study also found that HCC, which two decades ago tended to be caused by liver-scarring diseases such as cirrhosis from alcohol consumption, is now occurring as a consequence of hepatitis C infection. "The liver scarring from hepatitis C can take 20 to 30 years to develop into cancer," Dr. Kim says. "We're now seeing cancer patients in their 50s and 60s who contracted hepatitis C 30 years ago and didn't even know they were infected." Eleven percent of cases were linked to obesity, in particular fatty liver disease.