The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and treatment in Japan: A multicenter collaborative observational study

Murai, Kazuhiro; Hikita, Hayato; Kodama, Takahiro; Kaibori, Masaki; Nishimura, Yuki; Tatsumi, Tomohide; Yamada, Tomomi; Kanto, Tatsuya; Mochida, Satoshi; Takehara, Tetsuo

doi:10.1111/hepr.13990

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 44 publications

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“…28 The COVID-19 pandemic has led to setbacks, including decreased screening, diagnosis, and access to healthcare facilities, in global hepatitis elimination efforts. 29,30 Similar trends have been observed in Japan, yet delays in diagnosis have not affected liver cancer progression or treatment, 23,31,32 Furthermore, hepatitis prevention efforts in Japan are implemented in accordance with national policies at the prefectural level.…”

Section: F I G U R Ementioning

confidence: 62%

Integrated policy of medical expense subsidies and clinical registry for patients with liver cancer and decompensated cirrhosis in Japan

Takeuchi,

Nozawa,

Yukimoto

et al. 2024

Hepatology Research

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Chronic hepatitis B and C are among the most significant infectious diseases worldwide, and are major risk factors for liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. In Japan, comprehensive hepatitis measures are implemented for the testing and treatment of viral hepatitis, thus enabling the early diagnosis of liver cancer. Nevertheless, patients with decompensated cirrhosis and liver cancer often have unfavorable prognoses and require repetitive long‐term treatment. In fiscal year 2018, an integrated policy of medical expense subsidies and research was established in Japan that aimed to alleviate patients' financial burden and launch the clinical registry of advanced liver disease. Over time, updates to the eligibility for the subsidy increased access to patients and has led to an increased number of beneficiaries. Additionally, the accumulation of clinical data in the registry has revealed the treatment choices for these diseases. However, the disparities in efforts across prefectures have also become evident. Raising public awareness of the policy and tightening the multisector healthcare network are keys to success in supporting qualifying patients with advanced liver disease.

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Section: F I G U R Ementioning

confidence: 62%

Integrated policy of medical expense subsidies and clinical registry for patients with liver cancer and decompensated cirrhosis in Japan

Takeuchi,

Nozawa,

Yukimoto

et al. 2024

Hepatology Research

Self Cite

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The impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis and treatment of HCC: analysis of a nationwide registry for advanced liver diseases (REAL)

Okushin,

Tateishi,

Hirakawa

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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The number of cancer cases diagnosed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has decreased. This study investigated the impact of the pandemic on the clinical practice of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a novel nationwide REgistry for Advanced Liver diseases (REAL) in Japan. We retrieved data of patients initially diagnosed with HCC between January 2018 and December 2021. We adopted tumor size as the primary outcome measure and compared it between the pre-COVID-19 (2018 and 2019) and COVID-19 eras (2020 and 2021). We analyzed 13,777 patients initially diagnosed with HCC (8074 in the pre-COVID-19 era and 5703 in the COVID-19 era). The size of the maximal intrahepatic tumor did not change between the two periods (mean [SD] = 4.3 [3.6] cm and 4.4 [3.6] cm), whereas the proportion of patients with a single tumor increased slightly from 72.0 to 74.3%. HCC was diagnosed at a similar Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage. However, the proportion of patients treated with systemic therapy has increased from 5.4 to 8.9%. The proportion of patients with a non-viral etiology significantly increased from 55.3 to 60.4%. Although the tumor size was significantly different among the etiologies, the subgroup analysis showed that the tumor size did not change after stratification by etiology. In conclusion, the characteristics of initially diagnosed HCC remained unchanged during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, regardless of differences in etiology. A robust surveillance system should be established particularly for non-B, non-C etiology to detect HCC in earlier stages.

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A Final Report on the Real Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Cancer in Akita Prefecture, Japan in 2022

Iijima,

Watanabe,

Shimodaira

et al. 2024

Tohoku J. Exp. Med.

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The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and treatment in Japan: A multicenter collaborative observational study

Cited by 3 publications

References 44 publications

Integrated policy of medical expense subsidies and clinical registry for patients with liver cancer and decompensated cirrhosis in Japan

Integrated policy of medical expense subsidies and clinical registry for patients with liver cancer and decompensated cirrhosis in Japan

The impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis and treatment of HCC: analysis of a nationwide registry for advanced liver diseases (REAL)

A Final Report on the Real Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Cancer in Akita Prefecture, Japan in 2022

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