Guess pathologic types of hepatocellular carcinoma in Italy

The prevalence and independent predictors of the different macroscopic type s of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were assessed in 1,073 unselected patie nts of 14 hospitals in Italy from May 1996 to May 1997. Solitary HCC was th e most common cancer type (44.6%), followed by multinodular (44.2%), diffus e (8.4%) and massive (2.8%) types. After adjustment for the influence of co nfounders by multiple logistic regression analysis, Child-Pugh grades B and C were found to be independent predictors of multinodular (odds ratio, OR, 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.5-2.6) and diffuse (OR 2.6; 95% CI = 1.6-4.4) HCC types. These findings indicate that the majority of HCC cases are not detected at a potentially-treatable stage. Delayed detection of HC C is associated with a higher likelihood of the multinodular or diffuse gro ss pathologic type.