Cirrhosis and hepatoma occurring at Boston city hospital (1917-1968)

Cirrhosis and hepatoma at Boston City Hospital have progressively increased in frequency, especially cirrhosis associated with chronic alcoholism. Alcoholic cirrhosis or fatty nutritional cirrhosis (FNC) increased from 31% (1917-1926) to 61% (1955-1968) of all types of cirrhoses. One third of 98 subjects dying of hepatoma had FNC. The occurrence of hepatoma associated with postnecrotic cirrhosis increased twofold and threefold in subjects with hemochromatosis. Chronic alcoholism was considered the pathogenetic agent implicated in the production of FNC, hemochromatosis, and post-necrotic cirrhosis in 56 of our 98 patients dying of hepatoma. An average of 8 years ensued from the onset of alcoholic cirrhosis to the appearance of hepatoma in 23 alcoholic patients.