HCC or hepatocellular carcinoma can result in patients getting liver diseases such as viral hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with cirrhosis due to disease progression. New data from recent researches shows factors that improve early detection and diagnosis, and risks prior to HCC and during treatment.

Researchers noted that racial and ethnic differences were linked with early detection of HCC and possibility of curative treatment.

Nicole E. Rich, MD, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and colleagues wrote. “Understanding and quantifying potential differences is the first step to identify intervention targets and inform strategies to reduce existing disparities.”

 “Monitoring for HCC in patients with cirrhosis, based on bi-annual ultrasound examination is recommended by international guidelines,” Charlotte Costentin, MD, from the Hôpital Henri Mondor in France, and colleagues wrote. “Improving compliance with surveillance guidelines should translate into a significant improvement in the prognosis of this deadly cancer.”

Researchers found that fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, a rare childhood liver cancer, metastasized to the brain, making them recommend surveillance neuroimaging for patients with advanced disease.

In an exclusive video from Digestive Disease Week 2018, John B. Kisiel, MD, a gastroenterologist from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, presents results from a study in which plasma assay of methylated DNA markers detected HCC across all stages.

Kevin Conroy, CEO of Exact Sciences said, “We developed Cologuard, which is a noninvasive stool DNA test that is the first and only stool DNA test approved by the FDA. It’s been used to screen over 1.1 million people in the U.S., and over 110,000 physicians use Cologuard.” 

A study finds that Stivarga improves HCC outcomes in cases of progression during Nexavar therapy. A new research reveals that abstinence does not reduce HCC risk in alcoholic-related cirrhosis.  Also, a new score predicts HCC risk during HBV antiviral therapy.