Background and aims
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the commonest tumors and considered
the fifth most common malignant neoplasm and a major cause of death. Egypt has
increased incidence of HCC cases, as Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis
C virus (HCV) infection. The aim was to study the epidemiological characteristics of
HCC in Assiut, Egypt.
Patients and methods
A descriptive observational study design was applied for the present study. The
studied population was 400 patients with HCC (288 of them were male and 112
were female) who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for HCC. Data were analyzed for
exploring the clinical, etiological, radiological, and tumor characteristics of the
studied patients.
Results
The mean age of the patients was 59.85±9.1 years. Most cases (68%) were from
rural areas, 38% of the patients were in agricultural occupation, and 32% of the
patients were accidentally discovered to have HCC .The most frequent symptom
was abdominal pain (15%). HCV antibody was present in 63% of the patients, HBV
infection was recorded in 28%, coinfection was seen in 3%, and no viral infection
was present in 6%. Diabetes mellitus was present in 37% and obesity in 24% of the
patients. Right lobe of the liver was the most frequent affected lobe (61%), and 69%
of the cases had a single lesion.
Conclusion
HCC incidence had been increasing in the past years in Egypt. The high prevalence
of HCV infection in Egypt makes the surveillance strategies important for early
detection of HCC in these patients to provide better curative treatment modalities in
the early stages.
Keywords:
chronic liver disease, hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus infection, hepatocellular
carcinoma