Hepatocellular carcinoma in the thalassaemia syndromes.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently complicates hepatic cirrhosis secondary to viral infection or iron overload. Therefore, patients affected by thalassaemia syndromes have a theoretically high risk of developing the tumour. We collected data on patients attending Italian centres for the treatment of thalassaemia. Twenty-two cases of HCC were identified; 15 were male. At diagnosis, the mean age was 45 +/- 11 years and the mean serum ferritin was 1764 +/- 1448 microg/l. Eighty-six percent had been infected by hepatitis C virus. Nineteen of 22 cases were diagnosed after 1993, suggesting that this problem is becoming more frequent with the aging population of thalassaemia patients.
Borgna-Pignatti
Caterina
C
Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale-Pediatria, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. c.borgna@unife.it
Vergine
Gianluca
G
Lombardo
Turi
T
Cappellini
Maria Domenica
MD
Cianciulli
Paolo
P
Maggio
Aurelio
A
Renda
Disma
D
Lai
Maria Eliana
ME
Mandas
Antonella
A
Forni
Gianluca
G
Piga
Antonio
A
Bisconte
Maria Grazia
MG
D000328:Adult; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D019190:Iron Overload / Q000150:complications; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000209:etiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy