Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Cirrhosis Improves Outcome

Abstract Objective Liver transplantation has become an effective treatment for cirrhotic patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma. We hypothesized that the quality of surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma influences prognosis by affecting access to liver transplantation. Methods A total of 269 patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma were retrospectively categorized into 3 groups according to quality of surveillance: standard-of-care ( n = 172) (group 1); substandard surveillance ( n = 48) (group 2); and absence of surveillance in patients not recognized to be cirrhotic ( n = 59) (group 3). Results Three-year survival in the 60 patients who underwent liver transplantation was 81% versus 12% for patients who did not undergo transplantation ( P