[Epidemiology, prevention, screening and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent type of primary liver cancer and occurs mainly in patients with cirrhosis. This work aimed at reviewing the main data and trends about HCC epidemiology in France, and about prevention, screening and diagnosis in patients with chronic liver diseases. The six following research topics were considered as priorities: 1) to improve epidemiological knowledge of HCC in France; 2) to clarify the epidemiology of HCC occuring in normal liver and to identify predictive factors; 3) to prevent cancer occurrence in patients with cirrhosis; 4) to improve the knowledge of predictive factors for HCC occurrence in patients with cirrhosis; 5) to improve the diagnostic procedure of nodules below 2 cm in diameter in patients with cirrhosis; 6) to understand functioning of medical networks in order to identify the reasons for late diagnosis and treatment of HCC in patients with cirrhosis.