Temporal trends of incidence, mortality, and survival of liver cancer during 2011-2020 in Fujian Province, Southeast China.

BACKGROUND

Liver cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system. We aimed to estimate the trend in the burden of liver cancer in Fujian Province, China, during 2011-2020.

METHODS

The population-based cancer data was collected from the cancer registry in Fujian Province during 2011-2020. Segi's world standard population was used to calculate the age-standardized incidence rates and age-standardized mortality rates. The temporal trend of liver cancer was displayed by annual percentage change and average annual percentage change (AAPC). Relative survival of liver cancer was calculated as the ratio of observed survival to expected survival. The age-standardized relative survival was calculated according to the International Cancer Survival Standards 1.

RESULTS

There were 14,725 patients diagnosed with liver cancer and 12,698 patients died between 2011 and 2020. For males, there was a downward trend in incidence and mortality (AAPC: -3.86%, -3.44%). Similarly, the downward trend was also shown in females (AAPC: -3.96%, -2.79%). The highest age-specific incidence and mortality were in the 75-79 age group (146.59/100,000 and 137.99/100,000, respectively), and there was no downward trend in this group during the period. The overall age-standardized 5-year relative survival was 10.77% in 2011-2015 and 14.54% in 2016-2020. During the study period, the percentage improvement of survival was higher in males than in females (34.75% and 25.33%). The percentage improvement of survival in urban was higher than that in rural (38.64% and 28.75%). Except for the age group over 75, the survival of patients in other age groups all has improved.

CONCLUSIONS

Liver cancer remains a serious public health problem in Fujian Province, China, which needs to be solved, especially in some high-risk groups such as the elderly, high-risk males, and rural populations. Early detection and treatment is the key to the prevention and treatment of liver cancer.