Liver cancer in Thailand: Temporal and geographic variations

Liver cancer is the most common fatal neoplasm in Thailand, and is responsible for 16.3% of all new cancers in males, and 5.5% in females. In recent years, at least, these proportions have been constant. In males, hepatocellular cancer is the predominant subtype, with an incidence 3.6 times that in females. In females, however, cholangiocarcinoma is slightly more common, incidence exceeding that of hepatocellular carcinoma after the age of 45. Geographic variation in the frequency of hepatocellular carcinoma is quite small (less than twofold), whereas the frequency of cholangiocarcinoma varies more than 12-fold between regions, and its occurrence relates to the endemic nature of the liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini.