Disparities in hepatocellular carcinoma incidence, stage, and survival: a large population-based study.

BACKGROUND Liver cancer is one of the most rapidly increasing cancers in the United States, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is its most common form. Disease burden and risk factors differ by sex and race/ethnicity, but a comprehensive analysis of disparities by socioeconomic status (SES) is lacking. We examined the relative impact of race/ethnicity, sex, and SES on HCC incidence, stage, and survival. METHODS We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, & End Results (SEER) 18 data to identify histologically confirmed cases of HCC diagnosed between 1/1/2000 and 12/31/2015. We calculated age-adjusted HCC incidence, stage at diagnosis (local, regional, distant, unstaged), and 5-year survival, by race/ethnicity, SES and sex, using SEER*Stat version 8.3.5. RESULTS We identified 45,789 cases of HCC. Incidence was highest among low-SES Asian/Pacific Islanders (API) (12.1) and lowest in high-SES Whites (3.2). Incidence was significantly higher among those with low-SES compared to high-SES for each racial/ethnic group (p<0.001), except American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN). High-SES API had the highest percentage of HCC diagnosed at the local stage. Of all race/ethnicities, Blacks had the highest proportion of distant stage disease in the low- and high-SES groups. Survival was greater in all high-SES racial/ethnic groups, compared to low-SES (p<0.001), except among AI/ANs. Black, low-SES males had the lowest 5-year survival. CONCLUSIONS With few exceptions, HCC incidence, distant stage at diagnosis, and poor survival were highest among the low-SES groups for all race/ethnicities in this national sample. IMPACT HCC prevention and control efforts should target low SES populations, in addition to specific racial/ethnic groups.