title: Clinical characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma in elderly patients.
abstract: The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in elderly patients in Japan has been on the increase. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of aging on the clinicopathological findings and the survival of HCC patients. A total of 624 patients with HCC were examined in this study. The patients were classified according to their age at the time of diagnosis: one group comprised younger patients (<75 years; n=544) and the second comprised elderly patients [(≥75 years; n=80, (12%)]. Results showed that there were significantly more female patients (younger:elderly, 22:36; p=0.005), normal livers (younger:elderly, 0.3:6%; p=0.0002), non-viral HCC (younger:elderly, 11:31%; p<0.001) and solitary tumors (younger:elderly, 53:76%; p=0.0008) in the elderly group. Five out of seven (71%) non-B non-C (NBNC) HCC patients who developed HCC in the normal liver were elderly patients. Survival between the younger and elderly HCC groups was not significantly different (younger:elderly, 4.38:3.45 years; p=0.665). Additionally, elderly HCC patients had fewer tumors, more mild underlying liver damage, and more frequent NBNC HCC. Their prognosis was not necessarily poorer than that of the younger HCC patients. Additionally, it appears that elderly patients develop HCC even without fibrosis. Therefore, aging may be a factor affecting hepatocarcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.forename: Hisamitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyaaki
authors.forename: Tatsuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Naota
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Taura
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miuma
authors.forename: Hidetaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Isomoto
authors.forename: Fuminao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Takeshima
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakao