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Early-onset HCC linked to HBV in South American patients

Hepatocellular carcinoma was linked to patients with hepatitis B in South America, particularly those younger than 50 years, according to results of a retrospective, multi-center study.

“To date, studies have focused on characterizing patients with HCC in Europe, North America, Asia and, to a lesser extent, Africa,” Aaron J. Chan, MD, from the department of medicine, University of Minnesota, and colleagues wrote. “However, little is known about the underlying demographic characteristics and risk factors for HCC in South America, particularly the association between viral hepatitis and HCC. In this study, we describe the early results of a multinational effort to characterize HBV-related HCC in South America.”

The study comprised 1,336 patients from Brazil (n = 540), Argentina (n = 251), Columbia (n = 239), Peru (n = 220), Ecuador (n = 65) and Uruguay (n = 21). Median age of patients was 64 years and 68% were men. Data on risk factors for HCC were available for 1,153 patients.

Of the patients with complete data, HBV represented the main risk factor for developing HCC in 131 patients and 81 of those patients had evidence of cirrhosis at diagnosis.

Forty-eight patients with HBV developed HCC before age 50 (median age, 58 years), while only 24 patients with hepatitis C developed HCC before age 50, (median age, 63 years; P < .001). Additionally, the median age of HCC development in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was 67 years and the median age for patients with alcohol-induced HCC was 68 years (P < .001).

“It is possible that the viral genotype had a role in early HBV-associated HCC in our cohort. However, our centers did not perform HBV genotype and sequence-specific studies should be performed addressing this question,” the researchers wrote. “Other factors such as insertional mutagenesis or family history could play a role in early HCC. However, we could not assess for these variables in our study. A larger comprehensive study is needed to further understand the clinical implications of HBV infection in HCC development in South America.” – by Talitha Bennett

Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.