Clinicopathologic features and prognosis of young patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in a large German cohort.

GOALS AND BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma in non-hepatitis B virus endemic areas is rare in patients younger than 40 years of age. The aim of this study was to characterize young patients in a large German cohort in comparison with older patients with regard to underlying liver disease, clinical management, and survival.

STUDY

We analyzed the clinical data and medical records of 1108 consecutive patients with confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma. Twenty-five patients (2%) were younger than 40 years of age. We compared this subgroup with patients older than 40 years of age.

RESULTS

Underlying chronic liver disease was less common in young patients and detectable in only 56% of patients. Fibrolamellar carcinoma was more frequent in young versus old patients (20% vs. 0.7%; P<0.001). There was a trend toward more potentially curative treatment options in young patients, and overall survival was longer in the young group compared with older patients (56.0 vs. 15.2 mo; P=0.048).

CONCLUSIONS

This western cohort of young patients is distinctly different from described Asian cohorts, especially with regard to a lower rate of underlying liver disease and particularly hepatitis B virus. Young patients had a better overall survival than older patients.