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Both HCV and HBV are Major Causes of Liver Cancer in Southeast Asians

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Abstract

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is higher in Asian Americans than in other ethnicities. While hepatitis B virus (HBV) is common, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is more prevalent in some subgroups. Our goal was to determine the etiology of liver disease associated with HCC in subgroups of Asian Americans. This was an analysis of 510 Asian HCC patients at a US medical center. Patients were identified using ICD9 diagnosis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to study predictors of HCV as the cause of HCC. Patients were Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Korean, with similar gender, age, and foreign-born status. Southeast Asians had a similar proportion of HBV- and HCV-related HCC, while Chinese and Korean patients had a higher proportion of HBV-related HCC. HCC was usually associated with HBV in Chinese and Korean patients, but both HCV and HBV were important associations in Southeast Asians.

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Abbreviations

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

HBV:

Hepatitis B virus

HCV:

Hepatitis C virus

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

AST:

Aspartate aminotransferase

AFP:

Alpha fetoprotein

TNM:

Tumor, node, and metastasis stage

BCLC:

Barcelona clinic liver cancer stage

NAFLD:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

MELD:

Model for end-stage liver disease

CTP:

Child-Turcotte Pugh

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Hillary Lin

  2. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, 750 Welch Road, Suite 210, Stanford, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Nghiem B. Ha, Aijaz Ahmed, Walid Ayoub, Tami J. Daugherty, Glen A. Lutchman, Gabriel Garcia & Mindie H. Nguyen

  3. UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Nghiem B. Ha

Authors
  1. Hillary Lin
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  2. Nghiem B. Ha
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  3. Aijaz Ahmed
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  4. Walid Ayoub
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  6. Glen A. Lutchman
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  7. Gabriel Garcia
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  8. Mindie H. Nguyen
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Correspondence to Mindie H. Nguyen.

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Lin, H., Ha, N.B., Ahmed, A. et al. Both HCV and HBV are Major Causes of Liver Cancer in Southeast Asians. J Immigrant Minority Health 15, 1023–1029 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9871-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9871-z

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