Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jul;12(Suppl 2):S361-S373.
doi: 10.21037/jgo.2020.02.08.

Addressing the worldwide hepatocellular carcinoma: epidemiology, prevention and management

Hrishikesh Samant  1 , Hosein Shokouh Amiri  2 , Gazi B Zibari  2
Affiliations
Review

Addressing the worldwide hepatocellular carcinoma: epidemiology, prevention and management

Hrishikesh Samant et al. J Gastrointest Oncol. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer in the world with rising incidence. Globally, there has been substantial variation in prevalence of risk factors for HCC over years, like control of viral hepatitis in developing countries but growing epidemic of fatty liver disease in developed world. Changing epidemiology of HCC is related to trends in these risk factors. HCC remains asymptomatic until it is very advanced which makes early detection by surveillance important in reducing HCC related mortality. Management of HCC. depends on stage of the tumor and severity of underlying liver disease. At present, resection and transplant are still the best curative options for small HCC, but recent advances in locoregional therapy and molecular targeted systemic therapy has changed the management for HCC at intermediate and advanced stages. This review is overview of global epidemiology, prevention, surveillance and emerging therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); liver transplant; resection; trans arterial chemoembolization (TACE).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jgo.2020.02.08). The series “Global GI Malignancies” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated age-standardized rates of incident cases, both sexes, liver cancer, worldwide in 2018.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Management of HCC. HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; BCLC, Barcelona Cancer classification; TACE, trans arterial chemoembolization; RFA, radiofrequency ablation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Akinyemiju T, Abera S, Ahmed M, et al. The Burden of Primary Liver Cancer and Underlying Etiologies From 1990 to 2015 at the Global, Regional, and National Level: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. JAMA Oncol 2017;3:1683. 10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.3055 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Projections of mortality and causes of death, 2016 to 2060. Accessed October 27, 2019. Available online: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/projections/en/
    1. Forner A, Llovet JM, Bruix J. Hepatocellular carcinoma. Lancet 2012;379:1245-55. 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61347-0 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Marrero JA. Current Treatment Approaches in HCC. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol 2013;11 Suppl 5:15-8. - PubMed
    1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, et al. Global Cancer Statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2018;68:394-424. 10.3322/caac.21492 - DOI - PubMed