Deaths from hepatocellular carcinoma are more likely to occur in medical facilities than deaths from other cancers: 2003‐2018

Abstract

Place of death is a key indicator of quality of end‐of‐life care, and most people with a terminal diagnosis prefer to die at home. Home has surpassed the hospital as the most common location of all‐cause and total cancer‐related deaths in the United States. However, trends in place of death due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is uniquely comanaged by hepatologists and oncologists, have not been described. We analysed US death certificate data from 2003 to 2018 for the proportion of deaths over time at medical facilities, nursing facilities, hospice facilities and home, for HCC and non‐HCC cancer. The proportion of deaths increased from 0.6% to 15.2% in hospice facilities (P trend < 0.0001) but did not change at home. In multivariable analysis, persons with HCC were more likely than persons with non‐HCC cancer to die in medical facilities, while persons with HCC were less likely to die at home.

Clinical Versus Radiographical Factors Associated With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis in high-risk Patients: Sizes Matter

“…A report from Germany found that HCC in males is four-times more common than HCC in females [ 4 ]. Patients with HCC tend to have end of life care in hospitals with a proportion of 15.2% of patients with the short survival time of 1.8 months in advanced stage if left untreated [ 5 , 6 ].…”