title: Trends in epidemiology, treatment, and survival of hepatocellular carcinoma patients between 1998 and 2009: an analysis of 1066 cases of a German HCC Registry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to analyze clinical presentation, course of disease, and management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a German referral center between 1998 and 2009.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  HCC is a rare tumor in Germany, but its incidence has increased over the last 30 years. New therapies such as chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads, selective internal radiotherapy, and sorafenib were introduced recently; however, the impact on clinical management and overall survival (OS) is unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective analysis, 1066 patients with HCC, separated into two 6-year periods (n=385; 1998 to 2003 and n=681; 2004 to 2009) were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of patients presenting each year (64 vs. 114 per year), with an age over 80 years or with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis increased significantly between periods. The main risk factors were alcoholic liver disease in 51.7%, chronic hepatitis C virus in 28.2%, and chronic hepatitis B virus in 13.4% of patients with liver cirrhosis and HCC. Patients presented with more advanced tumor stages and with worse liver function in period 2. The majority (61.6%) of patients received local treatment over a spectrum of Barcelona Clinic Liver-Cancer (BCLC) stages, whereas systemic therapy was offered to a minority (8.8%) and limited to BCLC stage C patients only. OS decreased in BCLC stage A and D and improved in BCLC stage B and C and decreased for all patients from 16.5 to 15.3 months between periods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No improvement of OS was observed when comparing time periods, partly because of the more advanced stage of HCC and because of the increasing age in the second time period. Improved and new therapeutic options and the intensification of surveillance programs are likely to increase survival of HCC patients in the future.
authors.affiliation: Departments of *Internal Medicine I ∥Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology #Transplantation and Hepatobiliopancreatic Surgery §Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI) ¶Institute of Pathology †Clinical Registry Unit (CRU), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz ‡National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Department of Medical Oncology, University Clinic of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Arndt
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weinmann
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Ina M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Niederle
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schulze-Bergkamen
authors.forename: Jochem
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoppe-Lotichius
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Pitton
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Düber
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schuchmann
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Galle
authors.forename: Marcus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wörns
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000639:trends*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult