Incident cases of primary liver cancer (PLC): proposal for the use of a standardised method in case-definition

Eur J Cancer. 1995;31A(1):77-9. doi: 10.1016/0959-8049(94)00419-6.

Abstract

We defined some standardised criteria for classifying incident cases of liver cancer into either Primary Liver Cancer (PLC) or Unspecified Liver Cancer (ULC), on the basis of the diagnostic procedures performed. A pilot hospital-based study (98 cases) was carried out in Verona, northern Italy, in order to assess the feasibility of the method. The same protocol was subsequently applied in a population-based study (349 cases) in Bresica, northern Italy. The percentage of cases with histological verification was 38.7 and 41.8%, respectively, with a wide variation among different hospitals. The percentage of cases we attributed to the PLC category was 78.6% in the hospital-based study and 78.8% in the population-based study. No differences in the proportion of cases attributed to PLC were found according to patients' age, sex or hospital of admission. Repeatability of the method was assessed through a cross-panel review of 198 cases, with a 91.9% interobserver agreement. Implications of this method are discussed and some suggestions for cancer registration and future research are proposed.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Italy / epidemiology
  • Liver Neoplasms / classification*
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Liver Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Pilot Projects