Should we undertake surveillance for HCC in patients with NAFLD?

Abstract

The pandemic of obesity and its related complications is rapidly changing the epidemiology of many types of cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming a major cause of HCC, with a steadily rising trend compared to viral or alcohol-induced chronic hepatitis. The much greater prevalence of the underlying liver disease in the general population and the chance of HCC occurrence in non-cirrhotic liver are the most worrisome aspects of HCC in NAFLD. Effective screening programmes are currently hampered by limited knowledge of the pathways of carcinogenesis and a lack of tools able to stratify the risk of HCC in the NAFLD population. Hence, poor surveillance has prevented the development of an adequate treatment for NAFLD-related HCC. Systemic and hepatic molecular mechanisms involved in hepatocarcinogenesis, as well as potential early markers of HCC are being extensively investigated. This review describes the current clinical impact of HCC in NAFLD and discusses the most important unmet needs for its effective management.

Keywords: Hepatocarcinogenesis; Non-invasive marker; Obesity; Steatohepatitis; Type 2 diabetes.