title: Clinical Presentation, Risk Factors, and Treatment Modalities of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single Tertiary Care Center Experience.
abstract: Objective. To investigate the risk factors, clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcomes in Saudi patients with HCC and propose points for early detection of the disease. Methods. Patients were stratified according to underlying risk factors for the development of HCC. Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) was used for cancer staging. Treatment was classified into surgical resection/liver transplantation; locoregional ablation therapy; transarterial embolization; systemic chemotherapy; and best supportive care. Results. A total of 235 patients were included. Males had higher tumor size and incidence of portal vein thrombosis. Viral hepatitis was a risk factor in 75.7%. The most common BCLC stages were B (34.5%) and A (33.6%), and the most common radiological presentation was a single nodule of less than 5 cm. Metastases were present in 13.2%. Overall, 77 patients (32.8%) underwent a potentially curative treatment as the initial therapy. The most commonly utilized treatment modality was chemoembolization with 113 sessions in 71 patients. The overall median survival was 15.97 ± 27.18 months. Conclusion. HCC in Saudi Arabia is associated with high prevalence of HCV. Potentially curative therapies were underutilized in our patients. Cancer stage BCLC-B was the most frequent (34.5%) followed by BCLC-A (33.6%). The overall median survival was shorter than other studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatology, Department of Hepatobiliary Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulrahman A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6156-4921
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Aljumah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0892-0931
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuriry
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: AlZunaitan
authors.affiliation: King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Ghobain
authors.affiliation: King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; Department of Medical Imaging, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Muaikeel
authors.affiliation: King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; Department of Adult Medical Oncology, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ashwaq
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Olayan
authors.affiliation: King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; Department of Medical Imaging, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Fahad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Azzumeea
authors.affiliation: King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; Department of Medical Imaging, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Bader
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2085-4818
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Almutairi
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatology, Department of Hepatobiliary Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abduljaleel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: AlAlwan
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatology, Department of Hepatobiliary Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia; King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hamdan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: AlGhamdi