Hepatocellular Carcinoma – Epidemiological Trends and Risk Factors

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with about 600,000 patients dying from the disease annually. In 70–90%, HCC develops on the background of chronic liver cirrhosis or inflammation. Risk factors and etiologies vary among geographical regions. In regions with a high incidence the majority of cases are related to HBV and HCV hepatitis. In developed countries, in addition to virus-related HCC, high consumption of alcohol as well as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease often in the context of metabolic syndromes are the prevalent causes. Improvement in clinical management of patients with liver cirrhosis and the control of related complications are the key for the rising incidence of HCC. This review gives an overview on epidemiological trends and risk factors and their mechanisms involved in the hepatocarcinogenesis. Knowledge of these factors will help to improve current concepts for prevention, screening and treatment of this disease.

Distinct DNA methylation patterns in cirrhotic liver and hepatocellular carcinoma

“…HCC incidence is rising also due to an increase in incidence of alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. 3,4 As for many other tumors, the development of HCC is a multistep process characterized by the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations leading to the activation of oncogenes and inactivation or loss of tumor suppressor genes. Genomic alterations as part of the somatic evolution of the cancer genome are common in human cancer in general and also in…”

Natural products and hepatocellular carcinoma: a review

“…[1,2] Most patients with HCC were diagnosed in advanced stage that carried poor outcome with an overall 5-year survival rate of < 9%. [3,4] An estimation of 21,000 deaths related to HCC was reported in the US in 2012.…”

Avaliação De Citocinas Na Fibrose Hepática Induzida Em Ratos Pela Ligadura Do Ducto Biliar

“…Se não tratada adequadamente e a tempo, a fibrose progride e os septos fibróticos começam a envolver nódulos de hepatócitos em regeneração, caracterizando a cirrose hepática, que é o estágio final da doença (BATALLER;BRENNER, 2005;HENDERSON;FORBES, 2008). Os pacientes com cirrose têm um elevado risco de desenvolver hipertensão portal, falha irreversível do fígado ou carcinoma hepatocelular, sendo este o 5° câncer mais frequente no mundo e a 3ª causa de morte por câncer (SCHUTTE et al, 2009). No Brasil, durante os anos de 2001 e 2010, a cirrose foi a principal causa, não só de hospitalização, mas também a oitava causa de morte.…”