Epidemiology of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Taiwan

Abstract

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major contributor to the world's cancer burden. Understanding the HCC incidence rate in Taiwan is thus an interesting avenue of research.

Methods: From an NHI database, those patients who had been newly diagnosed with HCC and who had been listed on a registry in a catastrophic illness dataset during the years 2013-2021 were enrolled in this study. Antineoplastic agent usage and comorbidities were also studied.

Results: The incidence rate of HCC decreased from 57.77 to 44.95 in 100,000 from 2013 to 2021. The average age of patients with HCC increased from 65.54 years old with a CCI score of 4.98 in 2013 to 67.92 years old with a CCI score of 5.49 in 2021. Among these HCC patients, the patients under antineoplastic agent treatment decreased from 53.47% to 31.41% from 2013 to 2021. The presence of comorbidities in HCC patients was about 55.77-83.01% with mild liver disease and 29.93-37.30% with diabetes (without complications) in the period 2013-2021.

Conclusions: The incidence rate of HCC slightly decreased in Taiwan. Due to antineoplastic agent usage decreasing over time, these results may indicate that more early-stage HCC patients detected in recent years were mainly treated with surgeries.

Keywords: comorbidities; hepatocellular carcinoma; incidence.

Figure 1

HCC patient enrollment flow.

Figure 2

Annual incidence of HCC in the period 2013–2021. Patients were classified as newly diagnosed HCC patients if they were newly diagnosed with HCC in NHI database and listed in registry for catastrophic illness dataset during years 2013–2021: ICD-9 cm code 155.x (malignant neoplasm of liver and intrahepatic bile ducts); ICD-10 cm code C22.x (malignant neoplasm of liver and intrahepatic bile ducts).

Figure 3

Antineoplastic agent usage in newly diagnosed HCC patients in the period 2013–2021. Antineoplastic agent usage was calculated as patients classified as newly diagnosed HCC patients prescribed antineoplastic agents (ATC code: L01) in index year.