Epidemiological and clinical features of primary liver cancer: an analysis of 236 patients

Objective To investigate the epidemiological and clinical features of patients with primary liver cancer( PLC). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 236 patients with complete information who were admitted to The First Hospital of Lanzhou University and diagnosed with PLC for the first time form August 2012 to August 2014,and their epidemiological and clinical features were analyzed. The chi- square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Results Among the 236 PLC patients,there were 198 male patients( 83. 9%) and 38 female patients( 16. 1%),and the patients aged 41- 60 years has the highest incidence rate( 58. 5%,138 /236). Nineteen patients had a family history of liver cancer,28 had a history of heavy drinking,34 were complicated by type 2 diabetes,and 44 were complicated by hypertension. Among these patients,232( 98. 3%) developed PLC on the basis of chronic liver disease,and 4( 1. 7%) had no chronic liver disease. There were 207 patients( 87. 7%) with chronic HBV infection,and most of them had HBe Ag- negative infection. Fourteen patients( 5. 9%) had chronic HCV infection,5( 2. 1%) had HBV / HCV co- infection,and 6( 2. 5%) had chronic alcoholic hepatitis. Among the 212 patients with HBV infection,51( 24. 1%) had HBe Ag- positive chronic hepatitis B,and 95( 44. 8%) had HBe Ag- negative chronic hepatitis B; there was significant difference in HBV DNA level between the two groups( χ2= 40. 687,Ρ = 0. 001). Among all the PLC patients,104 had an alpha- fetoprotein( AFP) level of > 400 IU / ml,48 had an AFP level of 200- 400 IU / ml,and 84 had an AFP level of < 200 IU / ml; 154( 62. 3%) had a single lesion,and 72( 30. 5%) had multiple lesions; most( 72. 7%) of patients with a single lesion had the single lesion in the right lobe,and the proportions of patients with multiple lesions in the right lobe and in both lobes accounted for 58. 3% and 41. 7%,respectively. Among the 80 PLC patients with pathological results,most( 85%) had hepatocellular carcinoma. Conclusion PLC has certain distribution patterns in sex,age of onset,family history of liver cancer,etiology,tumor position,number of tumors,and pathological histology. The factors involved in the development and progression of PLC need in- depth investigation,in order to develop good control strategies. Moreover,the association of PLC with chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension awaits further investigation.