Rising Rates of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Leading to Liver Transplantation in Baby Boomer Generation with Chronic Hepatitis C, Alcohol Liver Disease, and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis-Related Liver Disease

Abstract

We aim to study the impact of the baby boomer (BB) generation, a birth-specific cohort (born 1945–1965) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-related liver transplantation (LT) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We performed a retrospective analysis using the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)/Organ Procurement Transplant Network (OPTN) database from 2003 to 2014 to compare HCC-related liver transplant surgery trends between two cohorts—the BB and non-BB—with a secondary diagnosis of HCV, ALD, or NASH. From 2003–2014, there were a total of 8313 liver transplant recipients for the indication of HCC secondary to HCV, ALD, or NASH. Of the total, 6658 (80.1%) HCC-related liver transplant recipients were BB. The number of liver transplant surgeries for the indication of HCC increased significantly in NASH (+1327%), HCV (+382%), and ALD (+286%) during the study period. The proportion of BB who underwent LT for HCC was the highest in HCV (84.7%), followed by NASH (70.3%) and ALD (64.7%). The recommendations for birth-cohort specific HCV screening stemmed from a greater understanding of the high prevalence of chronic HCV and HCV-related HCC within BB. The rising number of HCC-related LT among BB with ALD and NASH suggests the need for increased awareness and improved preventative screening/surveillance measures within NASH and ALD cohorts as well.

Keywords

• baby boomer
• hepatitis C virus
• alcoholic liver disease
• non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
• liver transplantation