Journal of Liver Cancer

Original Articles

Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Korea: An Analysis of the 2016–2018 Korean Nationwide Cancer Registry: Jihyun An, Young Chang, Gwang Hyeon Choi, Won Sohn, Jeong Eun Son, Hyunjae Shin, Jae Hyun Yoon, Jun Sik Yoon, Hye Young Jang, Eun Ju Cho, Ji Won Han, Suk Kyun Hong, Ju-Yeon Cho, Kyu-Won Jung, Eun Hye Park, Eunyang Kim, Bo Hyun Kim; Received January 26, 2025 Accepted February 20, 2025 Published online March 4, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.2025.02.20 [Accepted]

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Abstract PDF: Background/Aims
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in South Korea. This study evaluated the characteristics of Korean patients newly diagnosed with HCC in 2016–2018.
Methods
Data from the Korean Primary Liver Cancer Registry (KPLCR), a representative database of patients newly diagnosed with HCC in South Korea, were analyzed. This study investigated 4,462 patients with HCC registered in the KPLCR in 2016–2018.
Results
The median patient age was 63 (interquartile range, 55–72) years; 79.7% of patients were male. Hepatitis B infection was the most common underlying liver disease (54.5%). The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system classified patients as follows: stage 0 (14.9%), A (28.8%), B (7.5%), C (39.0%), and D (9.8%). The median overall survival was 3.72 years (95% CI: 3.47–4.14), with 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of 71.3%, 54.1%, and 44.3%, respectively. In 2016–2018, there was a significant shift toward BCLC stage 0–A and Child–Turcotte–Pugh liver function class A (Ps<0.05), although survival rates did not differ by diagnosis year. In the treatment group (n=4,389), the most common initial treatments were transarterial therapy (31.7%), surgical resection (24.9%), best supportive care (18.9%), and local ablation therapy (10.5%).
Conclusions
Between 2016 and 2018, HCC tended to be diagnosed at earlier stages, with better liver function in later years. However, since approximately half of the patients remained diagnosed at an advanced stage, more rigorous and optimized HCC screening strategies should be implemented.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Korea: an Analysis of the 2015 Korean Nationwide Cancer Registry: Jun Sik Yoon, Han Ah Lee, Hwi Young Kim, Dong Hyun Sinn, Dong Ho Lee, Suk Kyun Hong, Ju-Yeon Cho, Jonggi Choi, Young Chang, Hyun-Joo Kong, Eunyang Kim, Young-Joo Won, Jeong-Hoon Lee; J Liver Cancer. 2021;21(1):58-68. Published online March 31, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.21.1.58

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21 Citations

Background/Aims
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in Korea. This study evaluated the characteristics of Korean patients newly diagnosed with HCC in 2015.
Methods
Data from the Korean Primary Liver Cancer Registry (KPLCR), a representative sample of patients newly diagnosed with HCC in Korea, were analyzed. A total of 1,558 patients with HCC registered in the KPLCR in 2015 were investigated.
Results
The median age was 61.0 years (interquartile range, 54.0-70.0 years), and men accounted for 79.7% of the subjects. Hepatitis B virus infection was the most common underlying liver disease (58.1%). According to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system, stage 0, A, B, C, and D HCCs accounted for 14.2%, 31.5%, 7.6%, 39.0%, and 7.8% of patients, respectively. Transarterial therapy (32.1%) was the most commonly performed initial treatment, followed by surgical resection (23.2%), best supportive care (20.2%), and local ablation therapy (10.7%). Overall, 34.5% of patients were treated in accordance with the BCLC guidelines: 59.2% in stage 0/A, 48.4% in stage B, 18.1% in stage C, and 71.6% in stage D. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 67.1%, 50.9%, and 27.0%, respectively.
Conclusions
In 2015, approximately 45% of Korean HCC cases were diagnosed at a very early or early stage, and 35% of patients underwent potentially curative initial treatment. BCLC guidance was followed in 34.5% of patients; in patients with stage B or C disease, there was relatively low adherence.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

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Review Article

Application of CRISPR/Cas9 in Treating Hepatitis B Virus: Ju-Yeon Cho; J Liver Cancer. 2017;17(2):111-116. Published online September 30, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.17.2.111

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116 Downloads

Abstract PDF: The advent of oral antiviral agents has revolutionized hepatitis B treatment. It has led to decreased incidence and mortality related to hepatocellular carcinoma. However, although nucleos(t)ide analogs (NA) are fast and potent in inhibiting hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase and reverse transcriptase activity, complete cure of the virus is not possible. The complete eradication of HBV requires the covalently-closed-circular DNA (cccDNA) to be eliminated. Novel gene editing methods, such as zing finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 (CRISPR/ Cas9) system, designed to target specific DNA sequences has great potential for therapeutic application. Among these, the CRISPR/Cas9 system may be the most feasible approach to eradicate HBV cccDNA. Further studies are needed to develop a more efficient and safer
method
of delivery using the CRISPR/Cas9 system to achieve complete cure of chronic hepatitis B.

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