Monday, February 26, 2018

Hepatitis B - Role of Age and Race in the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Veterans

February's issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Article Summary @ GastroHep

"In a sample of male veterans with chronic hepatitis B virus infection, risk of hepatocellular carcinoma is highest among Asian Pacific Islanders, followed by whites and African Americans."

"Cirrhosis increased hepatocellular carcinoma risk."

"Among patients without cirrhosis, male patients who are older than 40 years and have increased levels of alanine aminotransferase might benefit from hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance, regardless of race."

Role of Age and Race in the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Veterans With Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Sahil Mittal, Jennifer R. Kramer, Ronald Omino, Maneerat Chayanupatkul, Peter A. Richardson, Hashem B. El-Serag, Fasiha Kanwal

Full Text
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Background & Aims
Hepatocellular (HCC) surveillance guidelines for patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are based on race- and age-specific estimates of HCC risk, derived from studies conducted in areas in which HBV is endemic.

Methods
We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the national Veterans Administration data to identify patients with chronic HBV infection from 2001 through 2013. We examined the effect of race and age on HCC risk while adjusting for baseline clinical characteristics.

Results
The study cohort had 8329 patients; 3498 patients (42.0%) were white, 3248 (39%) were African Americans, and 659 (7.9%) were Asian Pacific Islanders. The annual HCC incidence was highest in Asian Pacific Islanders (0.65%), followed by whites (0.57%) and African Americans (0.40%). After adjusting for clinical and viral factors, the risk of HCC was significantly higher in Asian Pacific Islanders compared with whites (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 2.04; 95% CI, 1.31–3.17). There was no difference in HCC risk between African Americans and whites (adjusted HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.58–1.02). HCC risk increased with age: adjusted HR was 1.97 (95% CI, 0.99–3.87) for 40–49 years; adjusted HR was 3.00 (95% CI, 1.55–5.81) for 50–59 years; and adjusted HR was 4.02 (95% CI, 2.03–7.94) for more than 60 years vs less than 40 years. Patients with cirrhosis had higher risk of HCC than patients without cirrhosis (adjusted HR = 3.69; 95% CI, 2.82–4.83). However, even among patients without cirrhosis, the annual incidence of HCC was more than 0.2% for all patients older than 40 years with high levels of alanine aminotransferase—regardless of race.

Conclusions
In a sample of male veterans with chronic HBV infection, risk of HCC is highest among Asian Pacific Islanders, followed by whites and African Americans. Cirrhosis increased HCC risk. Among patients without cirrhosis, male patients who are older than 40 years and have increased levels of alanine aminotransferase might benefit from HCC surveillance, regardless of race.

Continue reading: http://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(17)31050-9/fulltext

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