There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Primary liver cancer (PLC) represents approximately 4% of all new cancer cases diagnosed
worldwide. The purpose of this review is to describe some of the latest international
patterns in PLC incidence and mortality, as well as to give an overview of the main
etiological factors. We used two databases, GLOBOCAN 2002 and the World Health Organization
(WHO) mortality database to analyze the incidence and mortality rates for PLC in several
regions around the world. The highest age adjusted incidence rates (>20 per 100,000)
were reported from countries in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa that are endemic
for HBV infection. Countries in Southern Europe have medium-high incidence rates,
while low-incidence areas (<5 per 100,000) include South and Central America, and
the rest of Europe. Cirrhosis is present in about 80-90% of HCC patients and is thereby
the largest single risk factor. Main risk factors include HBV, HCV, aflatoxin and
possibly obesity and diabetes. Together HBV and HCV account for 80-90% of all HCC
worldwide. HBV continues to be the major HCC risk factor worldwide, although its importance
will most likely decrease during the coming decades due to the widespread use of the
HBV vaccine in the newborns. HCV has been the dominant viral cause in HCC in North
America, some Western countries and Japan. Obesity and diabetes are increasing at
a fast pace throughout the world, and if they are proven to be HCC risk factors, they
would account for more HCC cases in the future.
Copyright 2010 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd..
All rights reserved.