%0 Journal Article
%T Controlling liver cancer internationally: A qualitative study of clinicians' perceptions of current public policy needs
%A John FP Bridges
%A Gisselle Gallego
%A Barri M Blauvelt
%J Health Research Policy and Systems
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1478-4505-9-32
%X To explore leading liver cancer clinician's perceptions of the current public policy needs to control liver cancer internationally.Key informant interviews were conducted with a range of liver cancer clinicians involved in policy in eleven countries. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated (where necessary), de-identified and analyzed by two researchers using a constant comparative method.Twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in: Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States. Nine themes were identified and cluster into three groups: 1) Promoting prevention via early risk assessment, focusing on viral hepatitis and other lifestyle factors; 2) Increasing political, public and medical community awareness; and 3) Improving funding for screening, liver cancer surveillance and treatment.This study is an important step towards developing an evidence-based approach to assessing preparedness for implementing comprehensive liver cancer control strategies. Evaluation mechanisms to assess countries' performance on the needs described are needed. Future research will concentrate of understanding how these needs vary across countries and the optimal strategies to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with liver cancer internationally.Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh in women, because of its high fatality it is the third most common cause of death from cancer worldwide [1]. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the predominant histologic subtype compromising approximately 85-90% of all primary liver cancers [2]. In 2008 there were an estimated 695 000 deaths from HCC globally among whom at least two thirds of these were in the Asia Pacific region [3]. Most HCCs are discovered late in advance stages due to the relative dearth of symptoms in early stages and the rapid doubling of the tumor [4]. Median survival of patients is estimated
%U http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content/9/1/32