Published in:
01-12-2017 | Fatty Liver Disease (S Harrison and J George, Section Editors)
Managing HCC in NAFLD
Authors:
Darren Hiu-Sun Foog, Deborah Kwok, Becky Ching-Yeung Yu, Vincent Wai-Sun Wong
Published in:
Current Hepatology Reports
|
Issue 4/2017
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Abstract
Purpose of Review
We aim to review the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Recent Findings
NAFLD-HCC is increasingly common in Western countries and has become the third leading cause of HCC in the USA. While cirrhosis is the most important risk factor for NAFLD-HCC, one third of such patients are non-cirrhotic. Few cases of NAFLD-HCC are identified by screening, resulting in delayed presentation. Liver resection, transplantation, and local ablative therapy are curative treatments for HCC. Although medical and surgical complications are more common after surgery for NAFLD-HCC because of obesity, the long-term outcome is similar to that for other causes of HCC.
Summary
NAFLD-HCC is expected to become a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Better understanding of the risk factors of NAFLD-HCC and development of prediction tools will help select patients for screening and improve outcomes.