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
. 2022 Aug;42(9):2029-2041.
doi: 10.1111/liv.15251. Epub 2022 Apr 3.

Changing epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in Asia

Chen-Hao Zhang  1 , Yifei Cheng  1 , Shu Zhang  1 , Jia Fan  1 , Qiang Gao  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Changing epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in Asia

Chen-Hao Zhang et al. Liver Int. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the second leading cause of malignant death in Asia, and Asia reports 72.5% of the world's cases in 2020. As the most common histological type, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for the majority of incidence and mortality of liver cancer cases. This review presents the changing epidemiology of HCC in Asian countries in recent years. Globally, aged, male and Asian populations remain the group with the highest risk of HCC. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are still the leading risk factors of HCC with a slight decline in most Asian countries, which is mainly attributed to HBV vaccination of newborns, prevention of HCV horizontal transmission and treatment of chronic hepatitis. However, the prevalence of HCC caused by metabolic factors, including metabolic syndrome, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, is increasing rapidly in Asian countries, which may eventually become the major cause of HCC. Excessive alcohol consumption continues to be an important risk factor as the average consumption of alcohol is still growing. Hopefully, great effort has been made to better prevention and treatment of HCC in most Asian regions, which significantly prolongs the survival of HCC patients. Asian countries tend to use more aggressive intervention than European and American countries, but it remains unclear whether this preference is related to a better prognosis. In conclusion, HCC remains a major disease burden in Asia, and the management of HCC should be adjusted dynamically based on the changing epidemiology.

Keywords: Asia; epidemiology; hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

REFERENCES

    1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021;71:209-249.
    1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. 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.
    1. Petrick JL, McGlynn KA. The changing epidemiology of primary liver cancer. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2019;6:104-111.
    1. An L, Zheng R, Zhang S, et al. Hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma incidence between 2006 and 2015 in China: estimates based on data from 188 population-based cancer registries. Hepatobiliary Surg Nutr. 2021. doi: 10.21037/hbsn-21-75
    1. Prueksapanich P, Piyachaturawat P, Aumpansub P, Ridtitid W, Chaiteerakij R, Rerknimitr R. Liver fluke-associated biliary tract cancer. Gut Liver. 2018;12:236-245.

Publication types