Clinicopathologic features and risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma: results from a single center in southern Turkey.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma at a major health center in southern Turkey. Computed tomography was compared to the combination of ultrasonography and serum alpha-fetoprotein determination in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: Of 226 patients with liver cirrhosis, 35 were diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma on first admission or during follow-up in the period between 1999 and 2002. The features investigated were, age at time of hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis, etiology of cirrhosis, severity of cirrhosis at presentation, tumor pattern, stage of hepatocellular carcinoma, serum alpha-fetoprotein level, and dynamic computed tomography findings. Results were compared to previous findings in Turkey and elsewhere. RESULTS: In the hepatocellular carcinoma patients, the male:female ratio was 4:1 and the mean age at presentation was 61 years. Chronic hepatitis B virus infection (65.7%) and chronic hepatitis C virus infection (28.6%) were the most frequently identified risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. Forty percent of the patients had Child-Pugh A cirrhosis when they were diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma. Sixty-seven percent of patients had fewer than three hepatocellular carcinoma nodules in the liver at the time of diagnosis. Only three of the hepatocellular carcinoma cases were Okuda stage I. The combination of ultrasonography and serum alpha-fetoprotein >20 ng/ml identified hepatocellular carcinoma in 32 of the 35 total cases. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that hepatitis B virus infection in patients with cirrhosis is still the leading risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Also, early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma is rarely diagnosed in cirrhosis patients from this region of Turkey. Surveillance with computed tomography for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma seems not to be mandatory.