Gender and ethnic disparities in hepatocellular carcinoma: Trends in incidence rates across U.S. populations from 2000 to 2021.

Abstract

524 Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignancy of the liver strongly associated with liver cirrhosis and the etiologies producing cirrhosis. As such, racial and ethnic factors might affect incidence rates of HCC resulting in disparities. While disparities have been reported, the effect of gender within certain populations, particularly Hispanic and non-Hispanic White ancestry, have not been fully explored. This study looks at the changing incidence rates of HCC in the US amongst different populations with a particular focus on the impact of gender on incidence. Methods: Incidence rates of HCC between 2000 and 2021 among different sexes within racial and ethnic groups in the United States were analyzed utilizing delay-adjusted data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Annual percent change (APC) was calculated by using Joinpoint Regression software. Results: Overall, HCC incidence rates since 2014 to 2021 show a slight decrease (APC, -0.06). While Hispanic men HCC incidence rates declined from 2012 to 2021 (APC, -0.44), Hispanic women incidence have had a steady increase since 2000 (APC, +2.52). Non-Hispanic Black men (APC, -3.07) rates vastly declined from 2015 to 2021 while non-Hispanic black women interestingly experienced a slight decrease in incidence from 2013 to 2021 (APC, -0.34). Non-Hispanic White men experienced stagnant rates of HCC since 2014 (APC, -0.05) while non-hispanic white women (APC, +3.59) showed increasing trends in HCC incidence since 2003. For comparison, non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander men (APC, -2.19) and women (APC, -2.36), which both experienced a decline since 2007. This analysis was repeated without significant change. Further corroborations are necessary to validate these findings. Conclusions: These findings show that while the incidence rates of HCC overall have decreased, this benefit appears to be largely driven in male populations. In contrast, in women, and particularly Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White women, incidence rates have been increasing. This phenomenon likely reflects the changes in etiologies of cirrhosis and HCC. Surveillance strategies and screening might need to be optimized to reflect these trends.