High incidences of hepatocellular carcinoma – A report from Population-Based Cancer Registry Center in Western Arunachal Pradesh

ABSTRACT

Background: Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health hazard and frequent cause of liver cancers accounting 90% of cancers of liver worldwide. It has high mortality, prevalence, and incidence rate in Sub-Saharan, South Africa, and South-east Asia. Its etiology is associated with infection, dietary habits, and lifestyle factors. Aims and Objectives: The present study was designed to discuss the various possible etiologies for high incidence of HCC in Western Arunachal Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: Data were collected as one among 33 population-based cancer registries in India under national cancer registry program of national center for disease informatics and research, Indian Council of Medical Research between 2012 and 2014 in Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Naharlagun. Data were represented in frequency and percentage using descriptive statistics. Results: With 194 cases, HCC represented 13.5% of overall malignancies in the region. It is 3 times more common in males than in females. Age-adjusted incidence rate for men was 21.44 and for women was 7.05. Conclusion: Western Arunachal Pradesh reported high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the world. This finding may be associated with high prevalence of hepatitis and alcoholism in the region and perhaps also associated with local food habits.