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Review
. 2018 May;27(3):205-212.
doi: 10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000428.

Worldwide incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma cases attributable to major risk factors

Aileen Baecker  1 , Xing Liu  1   2 , Carlo La Vecchia  3 , Zuo-Feng Zhang  1   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Worldwide incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma cases attributable to major risk factors

Aileen Baecker et al. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2018 May.

Abstract

To facilitate regionally specific liver cancer prevention and control, this study estimates the fraction of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases attributable to five major liver cancer risk factors by geographic region. Prevalence estimates of major HCC risk factors, including chronic infection with hepatitis B and hepatitis C, alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking, obesity, and diabetes, were extracted for each country from the literature, along with recent incidence and risk estimate data, to calculate regionally specific population attributable fractions. Overall, 44% of HCC cases worldwide were attributable to chronic hepatitis B infection, with the majority of cases occurring in Asia. Hepatitis C was responsible for 21% of cases. Lifestyle risk factors such as alcohol drinking and obesity were responsible for a larger percentage of cases in North America and Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. In addition, strong sex disparities were observed when looking at lifestyle risk factors, particularly tobacco smoking, in Asia and Africa. Prominent risk factors for HCC vary depending on the region. Our findings provide useful data for developing regionally specific guidelines for liver cancer prevention and control worldwide.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: We have no conflicts of interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average Population Attributable Fraction for Major Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk Factors by Regional Income Status
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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