Black patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at an earlier disease stage and have better liver function at the time of diagnosis when compared with non-Black patients, according to a study published in Cancer. Researchers retrospectively reviewed records of patients with HCV and HCC from 2003 to 2018. Imaging, laboratory, and pathologic features were compared between Black and non-Black patients; 390 of the 1,195 individuals with HCC identified as Black. Black patients had better liver function at the time of HCC diagnosis, as measured by the Child- Pugh score, Model of End-Stage Liver Disease score, histology of nontumor tissue, and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score; in 31% of Black patients, FIB-4 scores were less than 3.25. Black patients also had less early-stage HCC (20.2% vs 32.3%), and they had larger tumors (median, 3.5 cm vs 3.1 cm) and more multiple tumors. For Black patients, tumors were more poorly differentiated (30.3% vs 20.5%) and there was more microvascular invasion (67.2% vs 56.5%).

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