Hepatocellular carcinoma: Comparison of two different periods at the same center

Aims: To analyze the main etiological factors and some clinical characteristics of patients with HCC at diagnosis and to compare them with those we described ten years ago. Methods: 179 patients were included in Group 1, while 132 patients were included in Group 2. For all patients age, sex, serum markers of hepatitis B and C viruses, alcohol consumption, serum alpha feto-protein (AFP) levels and the main liver function parameters at HCC diagnosis were recorded. Results: Mean age was 66.0 years for Group 1 and 69.0 for Group 2 (P=0.005). HCV was responsible for 80.3% of HCC cases in Group 2 versus 72% in Group 1 (P=0.005). HBV alone and co-infection of HCV+HBV decreased, but not significantly. In Group 1 only four patients had an underlying normal liver, while in Group 2 no patients showed an underlying normal liver (P=ns). HCC was more frequently associated with Child class A in Group 2 (P=0.0001), whereas in Group 1 it was more frequently associated with class C (P=0.0001). Staging of HCC correlated inversely when patients of Groups 1 and 2 were compared (Pb0.03). AFP serum levels were above normal in 72% of cases in Group 1 and in 41.5% in Group 2 (P=0.0001). Conclusion: This study shows that over the last decade a number of characteristics of patients with HCC in our region have changed, particularly age at onset of HCC, staging of underlying liver disease and staging of HCC.