title: Epidemiology of liver cancer in Italy with special regard to the autopsy studies in Trieste.
abstract: The authors report their data on epidemiology of liver cancer (LC) in Trieste. Because of the high autopsy rate in the Province (the ratio autopsies/deaths is about 70%), the findings allow to draw some conclusions which could be regarded as a paradigm, at least in Northern Italy: 1) At autopsy LC prevalence is about 1.8% and the value has been increasing over the last few years; 2) 95.4% of LC are hepatocellular (HCC) and 92.9% of the latter occur in cirrhotic livers. Patients with HCC and cirrhosis are 6 years younger than those affected by HCC alone. On the basis of the above reported conclusions, the role of liver cirrhosis as preneoplastic condition is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomia Patologica of the University of Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melato
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zanconati
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*