Moussa, Ali Mahamat and Pineau, Pascal and Habkreo, Mayanna and Nedjim, Gumbo and Saleh, Tahir Mahamat and Fouda, Adoum Abderrazak and Hachim, Mahamat Ali and Chatté, Adawaye and Nadlaou, Bessimbaye and Kalli, Moussa and Ouchemi, Choua (2023) Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chad: A Retrospective Study of 219 Cases. Open Journal of Gastroenterology, 13 (11). pp. 382-392. ISSN 2163-9450
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Abstract
Background: Although hepatocellular carcinoma was historically considered an important scourge in Middle Africa, there is no publication describing this disease in Chad. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 219 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) attending care at the University Reference Hospital of Ndjamena between 2007 and 2016. Results: This series of HCC was characterized by a male predominance (M:F = 2.4) with a mean tumor onset at the end of the fifth decade of life (49.9 ± 14.7 years). Tumors appear on a cirrhotic liver in 70% of cases and were already multifocal at diagnosis in two thirds of the patients. Alpha-fetoprotein was above the physiological threshold (10 ng/mL) in 73.4% of cases measured and above the so-called diagnostic level (400 ng/mL) in 53.4% of patients. The principal risk factor was chronic infection with hepatitis B virus, detected in 52.6% of cases. Patients seropositive for hepatitis C virus were infrequent (8.6%) and heavy alcohol intake was even less prevalent (5.9%). Remarkably, a very large subset of patients did not present any infectious or lifestyle risk factor (43.4%). Mean AFP values or fibrosis assessment scores are usually lower in these patients than in HBV-infected ones. Conclusions: The etiological spectrum of HCC is far from being fully established in Chad. Further epidemiological research is warranted to identify risk factors involved in a large proportion of cases. Exposure to aflatoxin B1 and dysmetabolic conditions affecting the liver have to be investigated as priority.
Item Type: | Article |
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Subjects: | Journal Eprints > Medical Science |
Depositing User: | Managing Editor |
Date Deposited: | 14 Dec 2023 09:13 |
Last Modified: | 14 Dec 2023 09:13 |
URI: | http://repository.journal4submission.com/id/eprint/3496 |