Significant drop in hepatocellular carcinoma cases reported in 2020 vs. pre-COVID years

ByKate Burba

Fact checked byHeather Biele

CHICAGO — Reported cases of hepatocellular carcinoma decreased significantly in 2020 compared with years before the COVID-19 pandemic, although there was minimal impact on tumor stage and patients receiving curative treatment.

“Since the emergence of COVID-19, several studies have shown a substantial alteration in HCC screening and management,” Bhupinder Kaur, MD, a second-year resident at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said at Digestive Disease Week. “However, less is known about the change in magnitude of HCC diagnosis and treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic on a national level in the U.S.”

“We saw a significant reduction in incident hepatocellular carcinoma cases and incidence rates in 2020 vs. prior pre-pandemic years,” Bhupinder Kaur, MD, said at Digestive Disease Week. — “We saw a significant reduction in incident hepatocellular carcinoma cases and incidence rates in 2020 vs. prior pre-pandemic years,” **Bhupinder Kaur, MD,** said at Digestive Disease Week. “We saw that the tumor stage and overall proportion of curative treatment remained stable, and these findings appeared consistent across racial and ethnic groups.”
*Image: Healio*

In a retrospective study of the U.S. National Cancer Database, Kaur and colleagues investigated the number of incident HCC from 2010 to 2020. Using trend rates from 2010 to 2019, they estimated the number of HCC cases in 2020, as well as cancer stage and treatment modality.

According to Kaur, there was an underdiagnosis of HCC in 2020 compared with 2019 (16,188 vs. 19,597). Before the COVID-19 pandemic, HCC incidence was increasing from 2010 to 2017 (13,032 to 19,666 cases) and stabilized from 2018 to 2019 (19,673 to 19,597).

These trends informed the predicted number of HCC cases in 2020 (19,011), although 14.8% fewer cases were actually diagnosed. This was consistent across racial subgroups, with fewer cases diagnosed in Hispanic (11.8%), white (13.2%), Black (11.6%) and Asian/other (11.4%) individuals.

Kaur noted minimal impact on tumor stage and receipt of curative treatment in 2020, with similarly limited change in average tumor size (4.2 cm in 2019 vs. 4.3 cm in 2020).

“We saw a significant reduction in incident hepatocellular carcinoma cases and incidence rates in 2020 vs. prior pre-pandemic years,” Kaur concluded. “We saw that the tumor stage and overall proportion of curative treatment remained stable, and these findings appeared consistent across racial and ethnic groups.”

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Sources/Disclosures

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Source:

Kaur B, et al. Abstract 340: COVID-19 pandemic impact on diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States. Presented at: Digestive Disease Week; May 6-9, 2023; Chicago (hybrid).

Disclosures: Kaur reports no relevant financial disclosures.

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Significant drop in hepatocellular carcinoma cases reported in 2020 vs. pre-COVID years

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