| Summary: | Introduction and Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a disease with an important variability according to the geographic location; worldwide is the second cause of cancer-related death. It is most frequently associated with VHB, VHC and alcoholism. Paraguay is a low-incidence country, but it is still an important cause of morbimortality, especially in cirrhotic patients. This study aimed to establish the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as the staging, the characteristics of the tumor and the treatment received. Materials and Methods: Observational, descriptive, retrospective study. We used and Excel spreadsheet to gather data. The variables were expressed in frequency, mean and percentage. Graphic 1. Results: 83 patients were included, and 40% of them were diagnosed in the last four years. 83% were males; the average age was 63 years, range 38 to 82. The etiology of cirrhosis was alcoholism in 34 cases, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in 15, cryptogenic in 13, VHB in 13, VHC in 4, autoimmune, PSC, PBC and hemochromatosis in 1 each. In 28% of cases, the diagnosis was first suspected by screening ultrasound. 60% of diagnosed cases were outside the Milan criteria. There was a solitary lesion in 59% of patients. Only 24% of the principal nodule was smaller than 3 cm. 2 patients were diagnosed at a very early stage according to the BCLC staging system (0); 31 in stage A; 16 in stage B, 20 in stage C and 14 in stage D. 49% received treatment, being the most frequent chemoembolization (17 cases). Conclusions: This Paraguayan study of hepatocellular carcinoma shows that although HCC has been much more frequently seen in the last years, a low percentage of HCC are diagnosed at an early stage or as the result of routine screening and that half of the patients do not receive treatment.
|
|---|