Abstract
Ulleung county is a small island on the eastern side of the Korean peninsula. The Ulleung Liver Cancer Prevention and Management Project was launched in order to minimize newly developing liver cancer within this region. Population-based regional cancer registry data were analyzed to investigate the status and characteristics of registered liver cancer patients. The Interagency Workgroup of the project provided a special screening program from 1 November to 3 November 2018, and from 23 April to 25 April 2019, undertaking liver cancer screening and health behavior surveys. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with recent liver cancer screening. In Ulleung county, hepatocellular carcinoma was identified as the main type of liver cancer, accompanied by a high incidence of hepatitis B. Approximately 25.0% of the participants were not aware of their liver condition. People who were aware of their liver condition and those who reported a general understanding of hepatitis B were more likely to have undergone recent liver cancer screening. To prevent the development and spread of the disease in the community, adequate infrastructure for cancer screening and an enhanced monitoring system are required, along with measures to create awareness to periodically determine liver condition in high-risk groups.
Highlights
Liver cancer is the sixth most commonly observed cancer type and the second major cause of death among cancer patients, following lung cancer, in Korea [1]
The purpose of the study was to investigate the status and characteristics of registered liver cancer patients in Ulleung county using the population-based regional cancer registry (PB-RCR) and to determine factors associated with recent liver cancer screening using survey-derived data
For all 5-year standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), the values obtained for Ulleung county were higher than those for DG and GBE, but there was no significant difference
Summary
Liver cancer is the sixth most commonly observed cancer type and the second major cause of death among cancer patients, following lung cancer, in Korea [1]. The National Health Insurance system in Korea ensures screening of liver cancer along with gastric, colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer. It is not usually recommended worldwide, the government provides financial support for liver cancer screening concerning the disease burden of the nation. Screening Program (NCSP) defines a high-risk group for liver cancer as those individuals who are at least 40 years old and meet one or more of the following criteria: (i) liver cirrhosis, (ii) hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen-positive, (iii) hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody-positive, and (iv) chronic hepatitis. The high-risk group is provided with the national liver cancer screening. Public Health 2020, 17, 7757; doi:10.3390/ijerph17217757 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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