Laima Alam.
A year of hepatocellular carcinoma at a glance. Demographics, biochemical and radiological characteristics and treatment modalities from a specialized facility of Pakistan..
J Pak Med Assoc Jan ;71(7):1849-55.

To analyse the relation of demographics of hepatocellular carcinoma with the aetiology in order to analyse tumour characteristics in relation to anti-viral therapy and the presence of viral-deoxyribonucleic acid/ribonucleic acid, and the treatment modalities offered. The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Gastroenterology, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January 1 to December 31, 2019, and comprised patients aged 18-70 years with diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma. Demographic variables, biochemical analysis, including liver profile and stage of cirrhosis, viral-status, tumour staging and the treatment modalities offered were noted. Of the 195 patients, 148(76%) were males and 47(24%) were females. The overall mean age was 59.8±8.9 years. There were 187(96%) patients with cirrhosis, 183(94%) corresponded to viral hepatocellular carcinoma, 160(82%) had hepatitis C, 18(9%) had hepatitis B and 6(3%) had co-infection. Platelets and alanine transaminase had a significant relation across aetiological groups (p<0.05). The presence of viral polymerase chain reaction had a significant impact on tumour aggressiveness (p<0.05). And, 62(32%) patients were amenable to curative treatment. Viral infection was found to be the main cause of rising prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment modalities were found to be expensive, and expertise was lacking.

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