Liver cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the liver, the largest internal organ in the human body.[i]The most common form of liver cancer, and the focus of the online Liver Cancer Simulator, is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).[ii] Hepatocellular carcinoma accounts for 90% of liver cancers.[iii]
The recent annual report to the nation on the status of cancer recognized HCC as the fastest growing cause of cancer deaths in Americans.[iv] Between 1975 and 2009, HCC incidence increased 3-fold.[v] Cirrhosis is the most important risk factor for development of HCC, and Hepatitis B and C and alcohol consumption are the largest risk factors for developing cirrhosis.[vi]
Despite advances in testing and treatment, most HCC patients present with advanced stages and have low survival chances (median ~8 months, 5-year <15%).[vii] HCC prevention strategies (including surveillance) should be tailored to an individual’s risk instead of following a one-size-fits-all paradigm. While patients with advanced HCC have a median survival of 8 months, patients with early HCC who receive potentially curative therapy achieve 5-year survival rates near 60 to 70%.[viii] Early diagnosis, therefore, is critical to improved survival. However, for successful and cost-effective HCC prevention programs, it is important to distinguish patients in whom surveillance is needed from those who will not benefit from it.
[i] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/liver-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20353659
[ii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/liver-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20353659
[iii] https://www.nature.com/articles/s12276-020-00527-1
[iv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553755/
[v] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2668555/
[vi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5063561/
[vii] https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hep4.1564
[viii] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246143