Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; primary hepatocellular carcinoma) – colloquially called liver cancer – (synonyms: Malignant neoplasm of the liver; Malignant neoplasm of the intrahepatic bile duct; Malignant neoplasm of the intralobular bile duct; Carcinoma hepatis; Carcinoma hepatocellulare; Carcinoma hepatocholangiocellulare; Hepatocarcinoma; Hepatoma; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Klatskin tumor; Liver carcinoma; Liver sarcoma; Liver teratoma; Malignant hepatoma; ICD-10-GM C22. 0: hepatocellular carcinoma) is the most common malignant (malignant) primary liver tumor and ranks second in tumor-related deaths worldwide.
It is the fifth most common carcinoma worldwide.
Sex ratio: males to females is 4: 1.
Frequency peak: The maximum incidence of heptocellular carcinoma is between the 5th and 6th decade of life. A special form is fibrolamellar carcinoma, which occurs in about one percent of affected individuals and has its peak age around 23 years of age.
The incidence (frequency of new cases) in Europe is about 6-10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. In many countries of East and Southeast Asia, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a much higher incidence due to an increased prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis (virus-related liver inflammation), resulting in liver cirrhosis.
Course and prognosis: In up to 70% of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, recurrence (recurrence of the disease) occurs within five years after resection (surgical removal of certain tissue parts of an organ or even a tumor). Independent risk factors for late recurrence two years after resection: see below “Hepatocellular carcinoma/Subsequent diseases/Prognosis factors”.Prognosis is poor for large tumors. The median survival after diagnosis is about 6 months. For small tumors, median survival at 1, 2, and 3 years is 81%, 56%, and 28%, respectively. Fibrolammary carcinoma is an exception. If the liver is otherwise healthy, it can be resected very well and then has a good prognosis.
The 5-year survival rate is approximately 6.5%.
