CHARACTERISTICS OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Dr. Ravella Ranjith; Dr. Nishitha Shetty; Dr. Prasanth YM; Dr. Dinesh Shet

Volume : VIII, Issue : XII, December - 2019

CHARACTERISTICS OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Dr. Ravella Ranjith, Dr. Nishitha Shetty, Dr. Prasanth Ym, Dr. Dinesh Shet

Abstract :

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignancy of the liver and is apparent as the main cause of death in patients with liver cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B or C virus infection. It is emerging as a major leading cause of cancer mortality. In India, the mean incidence of Hepatocellular carcinoma is 2.77% for males and 1.38% for females based on the population registry. Our study aims to assess the clinico–etiological profile of HCC at a tertiary hospital in India. Methods and Material: Cross–sectional, observational and hospital–based retrospective study. Patients diagnosed as HCC from Jan 2014 to Feb 2019, registered in Hepatocellular Cancer Registry and admitted to the hospital, were reviewed. Clinical, biochemical, serological and radiological details were noted from case records and analysed. Out of the total 70 Patients, 57 patients had radiological or pathological evidence of HCC. Out of 57 patients, 53 of them had radiologically confirmed the diagnosis and 44 of them had histopathological report confirmative of HCC. Results: Age wise, out of 57 HCC patients 45 are males, 12 are females. Median age group is 60 years. The predominant complaint among HCC patients is abdominal pain/discomfort in 56.75% followed by abdominal distension in 40.54%. 53 patients out of 57 patients have undergone HIV/HBsAg/Anti HCV serology testing. 5 out of 53 patients screened for HBsAg antigen were positive and 2 patients were anti–HCV antibody positive. Alpha–fetoprotein levels were available in 45 patients, out of which 12 (26.6%) patients had normal levels of alpha–fetoprotein and 20(44.4%) patients have in the diagnostic range of more than 400ng/ml. Patients were classified according to okuda staging and most of the patients belong to Okuda stage I (48.07%). Most of the patients were started on Sorafenib 200mg once daily dose and titrated according to tolerance. Conclusions: This data on HCC provides information about tumour characteristics and possible associated risk factors. Study results show that alcohol consumption (40%) is the commonest underlying etiological factor for HCC followed by Hep B (9.43%) and Hep C (3.77%). Hepatitis B positivity in this study is lower than observed in various other studies done in India.