Primary hepatic cancer and liver cirrhosis. Autopsy study covering fifty years.

Autopsy reports from 1931 to 1980 were used to study the incidence of liver cirrhosis (LC) and the association between LC and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in our area (Wuppertal, Germany). An increase in LC and in LC with HCC has occurred since World War II, with HCC being most frequently associated with postnecrotic cirrhosis. The prevalence of HCC in men with LC was highest (13.5%) in 1966-1970, whereas the prevalence of HCC with LC in women rose abruptly to a peak (11.8%) during the last 5 years of the study. Possible etiological factors for the association between LC and HCC are discussed.