Hepatocellular carcinoma incidence is decreasing in Korea but increasing in the very elderly

Background/Aims@#A comprehensive analysis of trends in the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is important for planning public health initiatives. We aimed to analyze the trends in HCC incidence in South Korea over 10 years and to predict the incidence for the year 2028. @*Methods@#Data from patients with newly diagnosed HCC between 2008 and 2018 were obtained from Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) were calculated to compare HCC incidence. A poisson regression model was used to predict the future incidence of HCC. @*Results@#The average crude incidence rate (CR) was 22.4 per 100,000 person-years, and the average ASR was 17.6 per 100,000 person-years between 2008 and 2018. The CR (from 23.9 to 21.2 per 100,000 person-years) and ASR (from 21.9 to 14.3 per 100,000 person-years) of HCC incidence decreased during the past ten years in all age groups, except in the elderly. The ASR of patients aged ≥80 years increased significantly (from 70.0 to 160.2/100,000 person-years; average annual percent change, +9.00%; P<0.001). The estimated CR (17.9 per 100,000 person-years) and ASR (9.7 per 100,000 person-years) of HCC incidence in 2028 was declined, but the number of HCC patients aged ≥80 years in 2028 will be quadruple greater than the number of HCC patients in 2008 (from 521 to 2,055), comprising 21.3% of all HCC patients in 2028. @*Conclusions@#The ASRs of HCC in Korea have gradually declined over the past 10 years, but the number, CR, and ASR are increasing in patients aged ≥80 years.

The relationship between hepatitis B virus infection and the incidence of pancreatic cancer: a retrospective case-control study / 대한간학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: An association between past history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and pancreatic cancer (PC) has recently been reported. We investigated whether HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are associated with the development of PC in Korea. METHODS: We retrospectively recruited patients with PC and sex- and, age-matched control patients with stomach cancer (SC) during the previous 5 years. Serum HBsAg and anti-HCV were examined, and data on smoking, alcohol intake, diabetes, and the history of chronic pancreatitis (CP) were collected. RESULTS: A total of 506 PC and 1008 SC were enrolled, with respectively 58.1% and 97.3% of these cases being confirmed histologically. The mean age and sex ratio (male:female) were 63.5 years and 1.5:1 in the PC patients and 63.9 years and 1.5:1 in the SC patients respectively (P>0.05). The odds ratios (95% confidence interval, 95% CI) in univariate analysis were 0.90 (0.52-1.56; P=0.70) for HBsAg, 1.87 (0.87-4.01; P=0.11) for anti-HCV, 2.66 (2.04-3.48; P<0.001) for the presence of diabetes, 2.30 (1.83-2.90; P<0.001) for smoking, 1.14 (0.89-1.46; P=0.31) for alcohol intake, and 4.40 (1.66-11.66; P=0.003) for the history of CP. Independent risk factors for PC were presence of diabetes (OR, 2.67; 95% CI, 2.00-3.56; P<0.001), smoking (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.93-3.21; P<0.001) and history of CP (OR, 4.60; 95% CI, 1.56-13.53; P=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant association between seropositivity for HBsAg or anti-HCV and PC. Further studies are warranted to clarify the association between HBV infection and PC in regions where HBV is endemic.