TY - JOUR
T1 - Hepatocellular carcinoma in the elderly
T2 - Clinical characteristics, treatment, survival analysis in Korean patients older than 70 years
AU - Kim, Yun Jung
AU - Jang, Byoung Kuk
AU - Kim, Eun Soo
AU - Chung, Woo Jin
AU - Park, Kyung Sik
AU - Cho, Kwang Bum
AU - Hwang, Jae Seok
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has increased in recent years. However, HCC remains poorly characterized in elderly patients, and comprehensive data are limited. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, prognostic features and survival outcome of elderly HCC patients. We retrospectively analyzed 992 HCC patients treated at Dongsan Hospital from January 2003 to December 2007. The patients were divided into two age groups: < 70 yr (n = 813) and ≥ 70 yr (n = 179). Elderly HCC patients, compared to younger patients, had significantly higher incidence of females (31.3% vs 18.9%, P = 0.001), hepatitis C-related disease (HCV antibody positivity 26.3% vs 9.2%, P = 0.001) and comorbid condition (53.6% vs 32.1%), but lower rates of hepatitis B-related disease (HBs antigen positivity 31.3% vs 69.4%, P = 0.001). There were no significant differences in underlying liver function, stage and survival outcomes. Factors significantly influencing the prognosis of HCC were Child-Pugh grade, number of HCC, level of alpha-fetoprotein, presence of metastasis. The survival outcome of older patients with HCC was not different from that of younger patients. There were no differences between groups in independent factors influencing the prognosis of HCC. Therefore, determining the optimal management strategy for elderly HCC patients is important to improve survival and long-term outcomes.
AB - The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has increased in recent years. However, HCC remains poorly characterized in elderly patients, and comprehensive data are limited. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, prognostic features and survival outcome of elderly HCC patients. We retrospectively analyzed 992 HCC patients treated at Dongsan Hospital from January 2003 to December 2007. The patients were divided into two age groups: < 70 yr (n = 813) and ≥ 70 yr (n = 179). Elderly HCC patients, compared to younger patients, had significantly higher incidence of females (31.3% vs 18.9%, P = 0.001), hepatitis C-related disease (HCV antibody positivity 26.3% vs 9.2%, P = 0.001) and comorbid condition (53.6% vs 32.1%), but lower rates of hepatitis B-related disease (HBs antigen positivity 31.3% vs 69.4%, P = 0.001). There were no significant differences in underlying liver function, stage and survival outcomes. Factors significantly influencing the prognosis of HCC were Child-Pugh grade, number of HCC, level of alpha-fetoprotein, presence of metastasis. The survival outcome of older patients with HCC was not different from that of younger patients. There were no differences between groups in independent factors influencing the prognosis of HCC. Therefore, determining the optimal management strategy for elderly HCC patients is important to improve survival and long-term outcomes.
KW - Elderly
KW - Hepatocellular carcinoma
KW - Prognosis
KW - Survival
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872545049&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3346/jkms.2012.27.10.1147
DO - 10.3346/jkms.2012.27.10.1147
M3 - Article
C2 - 23091310
AN - SCOPUS:84872545049
SN - 1011-8934
VL - 27
SP - 1147
EP - 1154
JO - Journal of Korean Medical Science
JF - Journal of Korean Medical Science
IS - 10
ER -