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. 2022 Oct;28(4):851-863.
doi: 10.3350/cmh.2022.0037. Epub 2022 Jun 3.

Impact of nationwide hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance on the prognosis in patients with chronic liver disease

Won Sohn  1 , Danbee Kang  2   3 , Minwoong Kang  3   4   5 , Eliseo Guallar  2   3   6 , Juhee Cho  2   3   4 , Yong-Han Paik  2   4   7   8
Affiliations

Impact of nationwide hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance on the prognosis in patients with chronic liver disease

Won Sohn et al. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Background/aims: This study aimed to investigate the effect of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance using the Korea National Liver Cancer Screening Program on the receipt of curative treatment for HCC and mortality in patients with chronic liver disease.

Methods: This population-based cohort study from the Korean National Health Insurance Service included 2003 to 2015 claims data collected from 1,209,825 patients aged ≥40 years with chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C, and liver cirrhosis. Patients were divided according to HCC surveillance using ultrasonography and serum alpha-fetoprotein every 6-12 months. The study outcomes were the receipt of curative treatment (surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation, or liver transplantation) and all-cause mortality.

Results: The study population consisted of 1,209,825 patients with chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C, and liver cirrhosis (median age, 52.0 years; interquartile range, 46-55 years; 683,902 men [56.5%]). The proportion of participants who underwent HCC surveillance was 52.7% (n=657,889). During 10,522,940 person-years of follow-up, 74,433 HCC cases developed, including 36,006 patients who underwent curative treatment. The surveillance group had a significantly higher proportion of curative treatment for HCC than the non-surveillance group after adjusting for confounding factors (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 5.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.48-5.81). The surveillance group had a significantly lower mortality rate than the non-surveillance group (adjusted HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.55-0.56).

Conclusion: HCC surveillance using the national screening program in patients with chronic viral hepatitis or liver cirrhosis provides better opportunity for curative treatment for HCC and improves overall survival.

Keywords: Hepatitis; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Liver cirrhosis; Nationwide healthcare insurance; Public health surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of study participants. HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Subgroup analysis for the receipt of curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (A) and all-cause mortality (B) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Adjusted for age, sex, year of chronic liver disease diagnosis, region, income, hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus infection, liver cirrhosis, Charlson comorbidity index, and initial treatment modality for hepatocellular carcinoma. OR, odds ratio; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; CI, confidence interval; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus.
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