[Early diagnosis and improved survival with screening for hepatocellular carcinoma].
OBJECTIVE
Screening for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common practice in the endemic countries but its exact role has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether screening can achieve early diagnosis and survival benefits.


METHODS
All HCC patients diagnosed at our hospital (September 1994  April 2000) were enrolled; They were divided into two groups; a surveilled group screened with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and ultrasound (US) for longer than 6 months before diagnosis and a non-surveilled group. We compared the tumor size, portal vein thrombosis, and stage at initial diagnosis and survival rate between the two groups.


RESULTS
A total of 247 patients were enrolled. 64 were in the surveilled group and 183 were in the non-surveilled group. The tumor size at initial diagnosis in the surveilled group was smaller than in the non-surveilled group (2.6 +/- 2.0 cm vs. 5.7 +/- 4.1 cm, p<0.05). The percentages of patients with stage I, II, III, and IV were 42.2%, 20.3%, 14.1%, 23.4% in the surveilled group and 8.7%, 19.7%, 36.6%, 35.0% in the non-surveilled group. A significantly higher proportion in the surveilled group had earlier stage compared with the non-surveilled group (p<0.05). Portal vein thrombosis in the surveilled group was noticed as significantly less than in the non-surveilled group (9.4% vs. 26.8%, p<0.05). Among Child-Pugh A patients, the cumulative survival rate in the surveilled group was significantly higher than in the non-surveilled group (1 year; 91.4% vs. 70.7%, 2 year; 71.5% vs. 59.9%, p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Screening with AFP and US is a useful tool for early diagnosis of HCC, especially with improved survival in Child-Pugh A patients.
Youk
Chung Mee
CM
Division of Gastroenterology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Choi
Moon Seok
MS
Paik
Seung Woon
SW
Ahn
Byeong Hoon
BH
Lee
Joon Hyeok
JH
Koh
Kwang Cheol
KC
Yoo
Byung Chul
BC
Rhee
Jong Chul
JC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins