Carcinoma of the liver in Thailand, trends in two decades

During the past 20 years, trends have been observed in primary hepatocellular carcinoma in Thailand. There is a definite increase in the association between HCC and cirrhosis of liver from 16.6% in 1958 to 50.78% in 1968 and 73.93% in 1978 series. The increase in percentage is associated with increase in mean age group from 44.61 +/- 9.77 in 1958, to 48.84 +/- 12.35 (p < 0.01) in 1978. This reflects the important role which hepatitis B plays in the etiology of HCC-associated with cirrhosis in Thailand. Also, the aggregation of people in the city of Bangkok may cause an increase in the hepatitis B carrier.