Cirrhosis Patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Are Significantly Less Likely to Receive Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

• Published in: Digestive diseases and sciences Vol. 62; no. 8; pp. 2174 - 2181
• Main Authors: Tavakoli, Hesam, Robinson, Ann, Liu, Benny, Bhuket, Taft, Younossi, Zobair, Saab, Sammy, Ahmed, Aijaz, Wong, Robert J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2017; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Biochemistry; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - diagnosis; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - etiology; Development and progression; Early Detection of Cancer - methods; Early Detection of Cancer - statistics & numerical data; Ethnicity; Female; Gastroenterology; Hepatitis; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C virus; Hepatology; Hepatoma; Humans; Liver; Liver cancer; Liver cirrhosis; Liver Cirrhosis - complications; Liver diseases; Liver Neoplasms - diagnosis; Liver Neoplasms - etiology; Male; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - complications; Oncology; Original Article; Population Surveillance; Proportional Hazards Models; Retrospective Studies; Safety-net Providers - statistics & numerical data; Surveillance; Transplant Surgery; Disparities; Hepatoma; NASH; Ultrasound; Safety-net
• ISSN: 0163-2116; 1573-2568
• DOI: 10.1007/s10620-017-4595-x

Background Disparities in receipt of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance contribute to disparities in overall survival outcomes. Aim We aim to evaluate disparities in receipt of routine HCC surveillance among patients with cirrhosis in a large urban safety-net hospital. Methods Consecutive adults (age ≥ 18) with cirrhosis from July 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015, were retrospectively evaluated to determine rates of receiving appropriate HCC surveillance within 6 months and 1 year after diagnosis of cirrhosis. Rates of HCC surveillance were stratified by sex, race/ethnicity, and liver disease etiology. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to evaluate for predictors of receiving appropriate HCC surveillance. Results Among 157 cirrhosis patients enrolled [hepatitis C virus (HCV): 29.9%, hepatitis B virus: 13.4%, alcoholic cirrhosis: 44.6%, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH): 8.9%], mean age of cirrhosis diagnosis was 53.8 ± 9.0 years. Among these patients, 49% received ( n  = 77) HCC surveillance within 6 months and 78% ( n  = 123) were surveyed within 1 year of cirrhosis diagnosis. On multivariate analyses, patients with NASH cirrhosis were significantly less likely to receive HCC surveillance compared with chronic HCV cirrhosis patients (HR 0.44, 95% CI 0.19–0.99, p  < 0.05). No significant sex-specific or race/ethnicity-specific disparities in receipt of HCC surveillance were observed. Conclusion Among a diverse safety-net hospital population, sub-optimal HCC surveillance rates were observed: Only 49% of cirrhosis patients received HCC surveillance within 6 months, and 78% of cirrhosis patients received HCC surveillance within 1 year. Differences in rates of HCC screening by liver disease etiology were observed.