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Query: UMLS:C0019204 (hepatocellular carcinoma)
 71,386 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The role of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a major cause of chronic liver disease is now accepted worldwide. This study was aimed at evaluating the natural history of the disease in patients with virus-induced chronic active hepatitis or cirrhosis, and the influence played by age, sex and etiology, liver function tests and by the occurrence of different complications. We retrospectively examined the clinical records of 506 inpatients: 194 were affected by chronic active hepatitis (125 males, 69 females, mean age 45 +/- 11 years, 146 HCV- and 48 HBV-related), and 312 by cirrhosis without clinical evidence of portal hypertension (178 males, 134 females, mean age 53 +/- 9 years, 249 HCV- and 63 HBV-related). The occurrence of cirrhosis in the chronic active hepatitis group was then calculated, together with the occurrence of complications and the cumulative mortality rate of established cirrhosis. During follow-up 93 patients with chronic hepatitis developed cirrhosis. The cumulative probability of developing cirrhosis in this group was 6.64% at 5 years, 56.1% at 10 years and 86.8% at 15 years. These patients were therefore included in the cirrhosis group for the final analysis, so that a total of 405 cirrhotic patients were evaluated: these patients had a cumulative survival rate of 99.1% at 5, 76.8% at 10 and 49.4% at 15 years. Comparing the age-adjusted death rate of our patients with the general Italian population, we observed that in patients with liver cirrhosis it was 3.14 and 2.84 times higher in men and women, respectively. Bilirubin was an independent indicator of survival. Several complications, such as esophageal varices, ascites, jaundice, hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy and hepatocellular carcinoma significantly reduced the survival rate and were indicated as major complications, while thrombocytopenia, cholelithiasis and diabetes did not affect survival and thus were called minor complications. Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma was very high especially in males, without correlation with etiology. In conclusion, the progression of virus-induced chronic active hepatitis to cirrhosis is not influenced by sex and etiology. Similarly, the different etiology does not modify the natural history of cirrhosis while the occurrence of one or more major complications significantly shortens survival. The longer survival rate observed in patients with cirrhosis included in this study is probably due to the selective inclusion of patients with early disease and no evidence of portal hypertension.
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PMID:[Viral liver cirrhosis: natural course, pathogenesis and clinical implications of the complications]. 900 17

A posthepatitic cirrhotic patient may undergo elective or urgent abdominal operation for an extra-hepatic or hepatic disease. According to the high postoperative morbidity (61%), surgery is indicated only for symptomatic or complicated cholelithiasis. A surgical procedure for refractory ascites has been devised to create a permanent peritoneo-venous shunt by a one way pressure-sensitive valve (Leveen). The procedure is simple and brings a long lasting relief with recovery in strength and nutrition and improved kidney function. Sclerotherapy is widely used to treat acute variceal bleeding while repeated sclerotherapy is used in the long-term management to eradicate varices. When indicated, liver transplantation is the best treatment to prevent variceal bleeding recurrence. Also portosystemic shunts effectively prevent recurrent variceal bleeding. They are, however, major operations with an important morbidity and mortality, particularly in poor risk patients. The most advocated shunts today are the Warren distal splenorenal shunt and the Sarfeh portacaval shunt using a small diameter prosthetic H-graft. The transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt (TIPSS) is a new treatment for portal hypertension and its complications. From a haemodynamic point of view it allows balanced hepatic perfusion. Postoperative mortality is rare; further bleeding and encephalopathy are reasonably acceptable. The most relevant complications concern dislocation of the prosthesis, stenosis and thrombosis of the shunt, which can be corrected by non-invasive dilatation. Encephalopathy is the main complication of surgical portosystemic shunts. It is usually controlled by protein diet restriction, and administration of lactulose or oral antibiotics. In severe forms the patients may be treated by an oesophageal transection with oesophagogastric devascularization, and by a postoperative suppression of the portosystemic shunt using external maneuvers. Posthepatitic liver cirrhosis is frequently complicated by the onset of an hepatocellular carcinoma. Early detection (aFP, DCP, Echography) and curative resection are the best ways to improve long term prognosis. Segmentectomy achieves a good balance between liver function preservation and radical exeresis for tumours less than 5 cm in diameter. Liver transplantation may be considered for the treatment of long-staging cirrhotic patients in whom hepatocarcinoma development has been recognized at an early presymptomatic stage. Hepatic arterial chemoembolization (gelfoam, lipiodol, mitomycin C or doxorubicin) may improve the survival of patients with unresectable malignant disease of the liver. A marked reduction in liver size may occur in the weeks following an effective chemoembolization with objective (CT scan) and subjective improvement (amelioration of specific symptoms). Liver chemoembolization is absolutely contraindicated in the presence of jaundice disordered liver function (Child C) or complete portal venous obstruction. In the last years, the number of patients treated by liver transplantation has greatly increased. Surgical technique, postoperative management, and immunosuppressive therapy account for the dramatic improvement of the results. However, indications for selection of patients and the timing for liver transplantation are still not well defined.
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PMID:[Surgical approach to posthepatitic cirrhotic patient today]. 927 83

The following article contains a short review on gastrointestinal problems of the elderly. The diseases of the esophagus occurring in the elderly are not much different from those in younger patients. Clinically relevant in the stomach are above all bleeding ulcerations and the gastric carcinoma occurring more frequently in advanced age. The pyogenic liver abscess is diagnosed primarily in the elderly and is at a rule the consequence of an infection of the gall bladder and other abdominal sites. The hepatocellular carcinoma does not grow rapidly in the elderly, but its accompanying unfavourable survival rate at five years is also approximately 5 per cent. In the case of symptomatic cholelithiasis, older high risk patients do especially profit from minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical procedures. Today, bile duct calculi are preferably treated by endoscopic papillotomy and following extraction of the calculi. The pancreas is subjected to atrophy, lipomatosis and fibrosis at the advanced age. However, these changes are rarely of clinical relevance. A frequent problem in clinical practice is that of constipation, from which 35% of patients suffer above the age of 65 years. Another typical symptom of the elderly is the incontinence, the different causes are being discussed. In advanced age, gastrointestinal hemorrhages are mostly occurring above the Treitz's ligament. Hemorrhages of the lower gastrointestinal tract occur mostly in the form of diverticle bleedings and those of angiodysplasias in the elderly. The diverticulosis is also a disease observed in over 50 per cent of patients above 70 years, but it is symptomatic in only part of the patients. When suspecting an inflammatory bowel disease in the elderly, the possibility of a mesenterial ischemia must always be considered as differential diagnosis. The classical chronic inflammatory bowel diseases can, however, also occur at advanced age. The colon carcinoma is one of the most frequent lethal causes in the Western countries 90 per cent of the cases of colon carcinoma are found in patients older than 50 years of age. Intensive attention is therefore required in this age group.
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PMID:[Gastrointestinal problems in elderly patients]. 933 52

A total of 51 cases (19 males and 32 females) of intrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) from a low-endemicity area of primary liver cancer was analyzed during the periods from 1958 to 1979 and from 1984 to 1991. The mean annual age-adjusted incidence rate was 0.44 for males and 0.56 for females per 100,000 inhabitants. CCC was diagnosed before death in only 31%. There was a female predominance in patients over 70 years of age (p < 0.05). At presentation, malaise (85%), weight loss (73%) abdominal pain (50%) and hepatomegaly (80%) were common. The median survival time from diagnosis was 2 months. The mean age at the time of death was 72 years (range 41-92). At autopsy, cholelithiasis was found in 61% (81% in patients older than 70 years) and cirrhosis in 30% of patients. Cholelithiasis was more common in CCC (p < 0.01) than in hepatocellular carcinoma cases with the same mean age. Not one case of inflammatory bowel disease was found. The gross appearance of the tumor was predominantly massive (49%) or multinodular (35%). The most common histological features were tubular pattern of growth (82%) and abundant fibrous stroma. Metastases were particularly associated with the lymph nodes (41%), skeleton (26%) and lungs (16%).
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PMID:Incidence, etiologic aspects and clinicopathologic features in intrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma--a study of 51 cases from a low-endemicity area. 957 58

The long-term use of oral contraceptives (OCs) may be associated with an increased, though quite small, risk of certain types of liver disease: acute intrahepatic canalicular idiosyncratic cholestasis, benign hepatic tumors (hepatic adenoma, focal nodular hyperplasia, hemangiomas), hepatocellular carcinoma, peliosis hepatis, hepatic vein thrombosis, and portal vein thrombosis. Estrogens have lithogenic properties, as shown by a rise in biliary cholesterol secretion and cholesterol saturation index, yet no substantial increase in the risk of gallstones among estrogen users has been found. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), given after oophorectomy or menopause, is not associated with clinically significant liver injury. Generally speaking, synthetic sex hormones should not be used in patients with acute and chronic liver disease. A trial of a low-dose estrogen can be instituted under close monitoring for adverse reactions and HRT preparations are not contraindicated in patients with chronic liver disease. Moreover, OCs and HRT can be prescribed quite safely following successful liver transplantation. The incidence of hepatic abnormalities in patients taking androgen hormones is very high. Liver adenomas, cholestasis, peliosis, nodular regenerative hyperplasia and, particularly, hepatocellular carcinoma may complicate long-term use of C17-substituted testosterone and anabolic steroids.
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PMID:Sex hormonal preparations and the liver. 967 67

A 5-year review of 50 patients, 28 males, 22 females, with a mean age of 42 years, operated for obstructive jaundice at Ile-Ife, Nigeria was undertaken. Neoplasms of the pancreas, liver, and bile duct were the common causes. Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangiography (PTC) with hypotonic duodenography was excellent in determining the underlying lesions. Pancreatic carcinoma accounted for 28% of cases, cholelithiasis 24%, hepatoma 22%, metastatic cancer 14%, bile duct carcinoma 10%, and traumatic pancreatic pseudocyst 2%. The patients with malignancies were older than those with biliary calculi. Biochemically, elevated alkaline phosphatase, and conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia, particularly in malignant obstructions, were diagnostic. Benigh bile ductal obstructions were surgically managed without any mortality. Malignant obstructions were surgically managed without any mortality. Malignant obstructions with their advanced presentations were less successfully managed. Biopsy alone or palliative bypass procedure could only be offered and the survival rate was dismal.
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PMID:Diagnosis, management and prognosis of obstructive jaundice in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. 992 Oct 92

Cholangiocellular carcinomas (CCCs) of the peripheral type (not Klatskin tumors) appear sonographically as solid space-occupying lesions. No typical sonomorphological signs are known. Important hint for the clinician is the knowledge of earlier or accompanying diseases in which CCCs occur more often (primary sclerosing cholangitis, ulcerative colitis, intrahepatic gallstones, parasitic diseases of the bile ducts, choledochal cysts, Caroli's syndrome). Typical Color-Doppler signs are also missing. Definitive diagnostic is left to biopsy. Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) mostly occur in cirrhotic livers. Every newly detected space-occupying lesion in a cirrhotic liver is suspected of HCC until otherwise proven, even when AFP-levels are normal. AFP levels constantly higher than 400 ng/ml make HCC probable, AFP levels of 2000 ng/ml ore more proof HCC. Gray-scale imaging is not uniform and not guiding. Using Color-Doppler nearly all HCCs show markedly hyperperfusion compared to the surrounding liver tissue, vessels are arranged in a chaotic shape. Echo-enhanced Color-Doppler always shows a distinct early arterial hyperperfusion.
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PMID:[Enhanced imaging diagnosis of liver carcinomas. Technical progress is not a substitute for clinical knowledge]. 1085 80

Ageing of the liver mainly affects the sinusoids and the Kupffer cells. Pseudocapillarization, manifested by reduced sinusoidal fenestration and subendothelial collagen deposition, causes a reduction in oxygen-dependent hepatocyte functions such as oxidative drug metabolism. The liver mass in old people is somewhat reduced and the liver blood flow is diminished. This causes a reduction in the clearance of rapidly cleared drugs, but the clearance of slowly cleared drugs is not affected. The overall capacity of the liver to regenerate is maintained in old people. Therefore, hepatic resections for hepatocellular carcinoma can be carried out in non-cirrhotic elderly people. For liver transplantations, biological age is more important than calendar age. Transplantations in frail old people and in elderly people with very poor liver function are associated with increased morbidity and limited survival. In relatively healthy old people, the results are as good as those in younger age groups. An increased prevalence of hepatitis C associated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the elderly population is to be expected, at least in the next 20 years. There is a high prevalence of gallstones among old people, in particular among females. For symptomatic choledocholithiasis in elderly patients, endoscopic bile duct clearance does not necessarily need to be followed by cholecystectomy.
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PMID:Liver disease in the elderly. 1197 34

A large, firm lipoma was found in the cranial mediastinum of a 3-year-old female prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus). It encompassed the carotid arteries, jugular veins, and thymus, and compressed the esophagus and trachea. Localized compression caused dysphagia, weight loss, and dyspnea, which eventually resulted in death. Most reports on prairie dogs involve their use in research on gallbladder contractility and its role in formation of cholesterol gallstones. There are few reports on naturally developing diseases in prairie dogs, and reports of neoplasia consist of only hepatocellular carcinoma and epiglottal fibrosarcoma. Intrathoracic lipomas have been reported as rare tumors in human beings, dogs, and rats. We describe here an intrathoracic lipoma in a prairie dog and information about this type of tumor in other species.
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PMID:Lipoma in the Mediastinum of a Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus). 1245 84

Hemobilia is an rare cause of acute pancreatitis. The most frequent causes are iatrogenic trauma (percutaneous liver biopsy) and hepatic artery aneurysm. To our knowledge, this is the second published case of acute pancreatitis related to hemobilia secondary to hepatocarcinoma complicated cirrhosis in a patient treated with anticoagulants for a mechanical valvular aortic prosthesis. The clinical picture included acute epigastric pain, fever and jaundice. Increased amylase and lipase serum activities, and abdominal CT data confirmed the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Gallstone induced acute pancreatitis was suspected and thus, a cholecystectomy was performed. No bile duct stones were found but a clot was extracted from the extrahepatic bile duct during surgery. Arterial embolization was then performed and repeated 1 and 3 months later for recurrence. The patient was asymptomatic eight months later. Hepatic arterial embolization is an effective haemostatic treatment for hemobilia, even though, in this case treatment had to be repeated because of an anticoagulant therapy.
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PMID:[Acute pancreatitis related to hemobilia complicating hepatocarcinoma]. 1248 43


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