Racial Diversity in Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Predominately African-American Population at an Urban Medical Center

Impact of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities on presentation and survival of HCC: A multicenter study

BACKGROUND

Racial and ethnic disparities have been reported for HCC prognosis, although few studies fully account for clinically important factors and social determinants of health, including neighborhood socioeconomic status.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study of patients newly diagnosed with HCC from January 2010 through August 2018 at 4 large health systems in the United States. We used multivariable logistic regression and cause-specific Cox proportional hazard models to identify factors associated with early-stage HCC presentation and overall survival.

RESULTS

Of 2263 patients with HCC (37.6% non-Hispanic White, 23.5% non-Hispanic Black, 32.6% Hispanic, and 6.4% Asian/other), 42.0% of patients presented at an early stage (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage 0/A). In fully adjusted models, there were persistent Black-White disparities in early-stage presentation (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.45-0.89) but not Hispanic-White disparities (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.70-1.24). Median survival was 16.2 (IQR: 5.8-36.8) months for White patients compared to 15.7 (IQR: 4.6-34.4) months for Hispanic, 10.0 (IQR: 2.9-29.0) months for Black, and 9.5 (IQR: 3.4-31.9) months for Asian/other patients. Black-White disparities in survival persisted after adjusting for individual demographics and clinical factors (HR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.09-1.53) but were no longer observed after adding HCC stage and treatment (HR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.88-1.24), or in fully adjusted models (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.79-1.18). In fully adjusted models, Hispanic-White (HR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.73-1.03) and Asian/other-White (HR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.63-1.15) differences in survival were not statistically significant, although patients in high-SES neighborhoods had lower mortality (HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.48-0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

In a multicenter cohort of patients with HCC, racial and ethnic differences in HCC prognosis were explained in part by differences in tumor stage at diagnosis and neighborhood SES. These data inform targets to intervene and reduce disparities.

Patient-, Provider-, and System-Level Barriers to Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in High-Risk Patients in the USA: a Scoping Review

PURPOSE

Hepatocellular carcinoma has a dismal prognosis, except in patients diagnosed early who are candidates for potentially curative therapies. Most HCC cases develop in patients with chronic liver disease. Therefore, expert society guidelines recommend surveillance every 6 months with ultrasound with or without serum alpha-fetoprotein for high-risk patients. However, fewer than 20% of patients in the USA undergo appropriate surveillance.

METHODS

A systematic scoping review was performed with the objective of identifying barriers to screening among high-risk patients in the USA including mapping key concepts in the relevant literature, identifying the main sources and types of evidence available, and identifying gaps in the literature. A total of 43 studies published from 2007 to 2021 were included. Data were extracted and a conceptual framework was created.

RESULTS

Assessment of quantitative studies revealed poor surveillance rates, often below 50%. Three categories of barriers to surveillance were identified: patient-level, provider-level, and system-level barriers. Prevalent patient-level barriers included financial constraints, lack of awareness of surveillance recommendations, and scheduling difficulties. Common provider-level barriers were lack of provider awareness of guidelines for surveillance, difficulty accessing specialty resources, and time constraints in the clinic. System-level barriers included fewer clinic visits and rural/safety-net settings. Proposed interventions include improved patient/provider education, patient navigators, increased community/academic collaboration, and EMR-based reminders.

CONCLUSION

Based on these findings, there is a crucial need to implement and evaluate proposed interventions to improve HCC surveillance.