Temporal trends and patterns for early- and late-onset adult liver cancer incidence vary by race/ethnicity, subsite, and histologic type in the United States from 2000 to 2019

Mei-Chin Hsieh; Kendra L Ratnapradipa; Laura Rozek; Shengdi Wen; Yu-Wen Chiu; Edward S Peters

doi:10.1007/s10552-024-01955-4

Temporal trends and patterns for early- and late-onset adult liver cancer incidence vary by race/ethnicity, subsite, and histologic type in the United States from 2000 to 2019

Cancer Causes Control. 2025 Jan 9. doi: 10.1007/s10552-024-01955-4. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mei-Chin Hsieh^{1

2}, Kendra L Ratnapradipa³, Laura Rozek^{4

5}, Shengdi Wen⁶, Yu-Wen Chiu⁶, Edward S Peters³

Affiliations

¹ Epidemiology and Population Health Program, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 2020 Gravier St., 3Rd Floor, , New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA. mhsieh@lsuhsc.edu.
² Louisiana Tumor Registry, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA. mhsieh@lsuhsc.edu.
³ Epidemiology Department, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA.
⁴ Oncology Academic Department, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
⁵ Cancer Prevention and Control Program for Georgetown-Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
⁶ Epidemiology and Population Health Program, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 2020 Gravier St., 3Rd Floor, , New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.

PMID: 39786651
DOI: 10.1007/s10552-024-01955-4

Abstract

Purpose: To examine incidence trends and patterns for early- and late-onset liver cancer.

Methods: Liver and intrahepatic bile duct (IBD) cancers diagnosed between 2000 and 2019 were acquired from 22 SEER registries. Variables included early-onset (20-49) vs. late-onset (50+), anatomic subsite, histologic type (hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC] and IBD cholangiocarcinoma [ICC]), sex, and race/ethnicity. Age-standardized incidence rates were calculated using SEER*Stat. Jointpoint regression analysis was employed to estimate the annual percent change (APC) and the average APC (AAPC) with pairwise comparisons for trend by sex and by race/ethnicity stratified by age and subsite.

Results: Liver cancer incidence decreased among early-onset (AAPC [95% CI] - 2.39 [- 2.74, - 2.07]) but increased among late-onset patients (2.85 [2.71, 3.01]), primarily driven by HCC (3.60 [3.50, 3.71]). IBD incidence increased for both ages with ICC incidence annually increasing 7.92% (6.84, 9.26) for early-onset and 6.32% (5.46, 8.86) for late-onset patients. Early-onset liver cancer displayed comparable trends across racial/ethnic groups; however, late-onset liver cancer showed more variation, particularly among American Indian/Alaska Native/Asian Pacific Islander (AI/AN/API) populations, which experienced a significant decrease in incidence, thereby narrowing the gap with other racial/ethnic groups. For IBD, an identical pattern of early-onset IBD among non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) compared to Hispanics was showed with coincidence test p = 0.1522, and a parallel pattern was observed among late-onset patients for both sexes (p = 0.5087).

Conclusion: Late-onset HCC continues to rise, except for NHB and AI/AN/API, where incidence rates have started to decrease over the past 4-5 years. Early and late-onset ICC incidence continues to increase across all racial/ethnic groups.

Keywords: Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC); Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); Intrahepatic bile duct cancer; Liver cancer; Trend analysis.

Abstract

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