Dataset Information

Factors Influencing Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and a rising cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. Liver cirrhosis is the major risk factor for HCC. Surveillance of persons with cirrhosis facilitates early detection and improves outcomes. We assessed the surveillance rate for HCC within a major academic health system and identified factors influencing surveillance.

Patients and methods

We examined the surveillance rate for HCC using liver ultrasound, CT, or MRI, and factors influencing surveillance in a cohort of 369 Minnesota residents with cirrhosis seen at the Mayo Clinic between 2007 and 2009.

Results

Ninety-three percent of cirrhosis patients received at least one surveillance study, but only 14% received the recommended uninterrupted semiannual surveillance. Thirty percent received ?75% of recommended surveillance, and 59% received ?50% of recommended surveillance. Factors increasing surveillance included gastroenterology or hepatology specialist visits (p < 0.0001), advanced liver disease as assessed by hepatic encephalopathy (p = 0.0008), and comorbid illness as assessed by diabetes mellitus (p = 0.02). Age, sex, race, residence, cirrhosis etiology, or number of primary care visits did not significantly affect the rate of surveillance.

Conclusions

While the rate of surveillance in a major academic health system was higher than reported in other studies, surveillance was heavily dependent on visits to a subspecialist. This suggests a major and urgent national need to improve identification of individuals at risk for HCC in the primary care setting and the initiation and maintenance of surveillance by primary care practitioners.

SUBMITTER: Ahmed Mohammed HA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5340216 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Factors Influencing Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

Ahmed Mohammed Hager A HA Yang Ju Dong JD Giama Nasra H NH Choi Jonggi J Ali Hawa M HM Mara Kristin C KC Harmsen William S WS Wiesner Russell H RH Leise Michael D MD Therneau Terry M TM Roberts Lewis R LR

Liver cancer 20161217 2

<h4>Objective</h4>Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and a rising cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. Liver cirrhosis is the major risk factor for HCC. Surveillance of persons with cirrhosis facilitates early detection and improves outcomes. We assessed the surveillance rate for HCC within a major academic health system and identified factors influencing surveillance.<h4>Patients and methods</h4>We examined the surveillance rat ...[more]

PMID: 28275579

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Project description:ImportanceCurrent recommendations for patients with cirrhosis are to undergo surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with ultrasonography (US) every 6 months. However, the sensitivity of US screening to detect early-stage HCC is suboptimal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with liver-specific contrast may detect additional HCCs missed by US in high-risk patients with cirrhosis.ObjectiveTo compare the HCC detection rate of US and MRI in patients with cirrhosis who are at high risk for HCC.Design, setting, and participantsA prospective surveillance study of 407 patients with cirrhosis and an estimated annual risk of HCC greater than 5% who underwent 1 to 3 biannual screening examinations with paired US and liver-specific contrast-enhanced MRI at a tertiary care hospital between November 2011 and August 2014. All patients were followed-up with dynamic computed tomography (CT) at 6 months after the study. The confirmation of HCC was based on the results of histologic examination and/or typical CT images of HCC.Main outcomes and measuresHCC detection rates and false-positive findings of US vs MRI.ResultsA total of 407 eligible patients received 1100 screenings with paired US and MRI. Hepatocellular carcinomas were diagnosed in 43 patients: 1 detected by US only, 26 by MRI only, 11 by both, and 5 were missed by both. The HCC detection rate of MRI was 86.0% (37/43), significantly higher than the 27.9% (12/43) of US (P < .001). Magnetic resonance imaging showed a significantly lower rate of false-positive findings than US (3.0% vs 5.6%; P = .004). Of the 43 patients with HCC, 32 (74.4%) had very early-stage HCC (a single nodule <2 cm), and 29 (67.4%) received curative treatments. The 3-year survival rate of the patients with HCC (86.0%) was not inferior to those without HCC (94.2%; hazard ratio, 2.26; 95% CI, 0.92-5.56; P = .08).Conclusions and relevanceIn patients with cirrhosis at high-risk of HCC, screening that used MRI with liver-specific contrast resulted in a higher HCC detection rate and lower false-positive findings compared with US. With MRI screening, most of the cancers detected were at very early stage, which was associated with a high chance of curative treatments and favorable survival of patients. Whether surveillance with MRI would reduce mortality from HCC in high-risk patients requires further investigation.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01446666.

Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is currently performed using a one-size-fits-all strategy with ultrasound plus AFP (US + AFP). There is increasing interest in risk-stratified and precision surveillance strategies incorporating individual risk and variance in surveillance test performance; however, the cost-effectiveness of these approaches has not been evaluated. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate four surveillance strategies (no surveillance, universal US + AFP surveillance, risk-stratified surveillance, and precision surveillance) in a simulated cohort of 50-year-old patients with compensated cirrhosis. The most cost-effective strategy was that with the highest incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and below the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $150,000/QALY gained. Model inputs were based on literature review, and costs were derived from the Medicare fee schedule. The precision surveillance strategy demonstrated variation in recommended surveillance test based on HCC risk category and patient factors. US + AFP, risk-stratified, and precision surveillance detected more HCC cases per 100,000 population than no surveillance, with a higher proportion of early-stage cases for precision surveillance (67.6%) than risk-stratified (63.8%), universal ultrasound (63.2%), and no surveillance (38.0%). Compared to no surveillance, precision surveillance was most cost-effective, with an ICER of $104,614/QALY gained, whereas US + AFP and risk-stratified surveillance were both dominated. Compared to US + AFP, risk-stratified surveillance was cost saving and dominated US + AFP, whereas precision surveillance was cost-effective, with an ICER of $98,103/QALY gained. Results were sensitive to survival with early-stage HCC, cost of early-stage HCC treatment, and surveillance utilization. Precision surveillance remained the most cost-effective when WTP thresholds exceeded $110,000/QALY gained. A precision surveillance strategy is the most cost-effective method for HCC surveillance. This approach could maximize surveillance benefits in high-risk patients, while minimizing surveillance harms in low-risk individuals. National Cancer Institute (U01 CA230694, R01 CA222900, R01 CA212008, and U24ca086368) and Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) (RP200554).

Project description:Over 20% of patients with cirrhosis are nonadherent with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance recommendations; however, few studies have evaluated the impact of patient-level factors on surveillance receipt. We characterized the association between HCC surveillance receipt and patient knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers in a racially diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged cohort of patients with cirrhosis. Patients with cirrhosis followed at a large urban hospital were invited to complete a survey about HCC surveillance between August 2014 and December 2015. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with HCC surveillance receipt during the 12-month period preceding and 6-month period after survey administration. We achieved a response rate of 71.8% (n = 541 of 753). Patients demonstrated high levels of HCC-related knowledge (summary score, 77.7%); however, 48.6% believed that eating a healthy diet precluded the need for HCC surveillance, and 34.0% believed that HCC surveillance was not necessary if they had a normal physical exam and/or lacked clinical symptoms. Patients expressed worry about developing and dying from HCC, but nearly half (49.9%) of patients reported barriers to receiving HCC surveillance, including difficulty with the scheduling process (30.5%), costs of surveillance testing (25.3%), and transportation difficulties (17.3%). HCC surveillance receipt was significantly higher in patients who knew cirrhosis is a risk factor for developing HCC (odds ratio [OR], 3.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-7.62) and significantly lower in those reporting barriers to surveillance (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.25-0.70).Patients with cirrhosis are knowledgeable and interested in HCC surveillance; however, patient-reported barriers are associated with lower surveillance rates in clinical practice and represent potential intervention targets to improve HCC surveillance effectiveness. (Hepatology 2017;65:875-884).

Dataset Information

Factors Influencing Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

Objective

Patients and methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Factors Influencing Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

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