Hepatocellular carcinoma screening practices among patients with chronic hepatitis B by Canadian gastroenterologists and hepatologists: An online survey.

BACKGROUND

xpert guidelines recommend hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance among patients with high-risk chronic hepatitis B (CHB); however, physician screening practices are often variable.

METHODS

An online survey of HCC screening practice was distributed to members of the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests with < .05 significance.

RESULTS

Of 71 respondents, 86% ( = 61) were gastroenterologists or hepatologists, and 72% ( = 51) reported having been in clinical practice for more than 5 years. A significant number of survey respondents performed HCC screening without consideration of concomitant non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (50.7%); non-Asian, non-African ethnicity (46.4%); and family history of HCC (28.6%). Most (67.6%) performed screening with ultrasound (US) at the time of specialty clinic visits, 28.2% had an automatic recall system, and only 2.8% referred back to primary care physicians to organize screening. More than half (54.9%) included alpha-fetoprotein in screening. Obstacles to screening included lack of an automatic recall system (42.9%), patient non-compliance (30.0%), and limited US/MRI access (17.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

HCC screening practices with hepatitis B patients vary widely among Canadian specialists, especially in unique populations with limited data to inform screening recommendations. Implementation of an automatic recall system could potentially increase HCC surveillance.