Morris Sherman, MB BCh, PhD, FRCP(C)
University of Toronto and,
University Health Network,
Toronto, ON.
Introduction
Although hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not a common cancer in North America, it is the fifth most common cancer in the world.1 Age standardized incidence rates vary from three per 100,000 in North American men to 80 per 100,000 in China.1,2 HCC affects people of all ages. However, as with many cancers, the incidence of this disease increases with age, so that the peak incidence is at about age 67-70, (M Sherman, submitted) regardless of the underlying etiology. In Canada, the incidence of HCC is largely driven by three chronic liver diseases: chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C and alcoholic cirrhosis. In Toronto, hepatitis B is the single most common cause of HCC, accounting for nearly half of all cases, while elsewhere in Ontario hepatitis C and alcohol are the major causes. (M Sherman, submitted)
Prognosis
HCC causes substantial morbidity and mortality. In the absence of early detection programs, most HCC present late, with advanced incurable disease. The reported survival rates for untreated symptomatic HCC varies from 0% at four months to 1% at two years.3-5 The prognosis for small, untreated HCC--lesions that are the target of surveillance--is not well described. However, two-year survival in excess of 50% is not unusual.
