%0 Journal Article
%T Survival and hepatitis status among Asian Americans with hepatocellular carcinoma treated without liver transplantation
%A Jessica P Hwang
%A Manal M Hassan
%J BMC Cancer
%D 2009
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2407-9-46
%X We identified Asian American patients with HCC referred to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Patients were tested for HBV and HCV. Survival curves were generated by Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was used to test the relationship between prognostic factors and survival.Of 82 Asian American HCC patients, most had advanced disease (65%) and received treatment (68%); however, only 11% had surgical resection. 94% had positive anti-HBc and 61% had positive HBsAg. 20% had positive anti-HCV. There were no significant changes in the rates of HBV and HCV over time. Male gender, high alpha-fetoprotein levels, and stage IV disease were associated with shorter survival Overall median survival was 9.2 months (95% CI 6.5¨C11.9), and the survival of HCV and HBV patients was not statistically different.The survival rate of Asian American patients with advanced HCC, for whom transplantation was not available, was low. Timely hepatitis screening and interventions by primary care physicians may be the most logical solution to reduce the burden of hepatitis-associated HCC among Asian Americans.Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common cancers worldwide, is rarely detected early and is usually fatal within months of diagnosis. Recent reports have shown significant increases in the incidence of HCC in the US during the past two decades [1,2].Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are established causes of HCC [3]. Worldwide, 53% of HCC cases are attributed to HBV and 25% are attributed to HCV [4]. Early detection and treatment of HBV and HCV can lead to improved surveillance for HCC, thus resulting in earlier detection of HCC and reduction in HCC-associated mortality. Screening for HBV and HCV is routine in Asian countries such as Japan and other developed eastern countries with high prevalence of these diseases [5], but screening among Asian Americans is currently is not widespread in the US [6].Although Asia
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/9/46