Improved Survival of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Diagnosed with a Dedicated Screening Programme—a Propensity Score Adjusted Analysis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is changing its face: analysis of the temporal trends in aetiology and clinical patterns of HCC in South Australia

“…Treatment with a curative intent of early stage HCC is associated with a 5‐year survival rate of 50–70% 24–27 . Local and international guidelines recommend HCC screening as standard practice in high‐risk groups 28 . Patients with HCC diagnosed in a dedicated screening programme had tumours detected at an early stage enabling patients to have therapies with curative intent resulting in improved overall survival 29–31 .…”

“…[24][25][26][27] Local and international guidelines recommend HCC screening as standard practice in high-risk groups. 28 Patients with HCC diagnosed in a dedicated screening programme had tumours detected at an early stage enabling patients to have therapies with curative intent resulting in improved overall survival. [29][30][31] The uptake of HCC screening programme in Australia has been suboptimal in the past with barriers, including lack of adherence, cultural and linguistic challenges as well as cost and resource limitations.…”

Benefits and harms of screening for hepatocellular carcinoma in high-risk populations: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The database and manual searches yielded 7846 potentially relevant records. After abstracts and full texts were screened, 70 studies 9 , 23 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92...…”

Hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in Australia: time to improve the diagnosis of cirrhosis and use liver ultrasound

“…The pooled 3‐year survival rate was 51% for those who had HCC surveillance, compared with 28% for those without prior surveillance ( P < 0.001). Four Australian studies have also reported that early stage HCC diagnosis and improved patient survival was associated with ultrasound screening . After adjustment for age, sex, cirrhosis and cause of chronic liver disease, the hazard ratio of mortality for non‐screening was 1.9 (95% CI, 1.3–2.9; P = 0.001) .…”

“…Medical education and models of care developed for hepatitis C management could again be used for this purpose . Most models include a clinical coordinator and, depending on the location of the patient group, may be based at a tertiary centre, in primary care or in other facilities accessible and appropriate for patients . Adherence rates in patients may be improved using memory triggers, linguistic aids and reminder systems for both patients and providers .…”