Primary hepatocellular carcinoma in Aboriginal Australians

Abstract

Abstract: We identified incident cases of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) in the Northern Territory from 1980 to 1989: there were 18 Aboriginal and six non‐Aboriginal cases, yielding incidence rates of 5.2 per 100 000 (Aboriginal) and 0.5 per 100 000 (non‐Aboriginal) with a relative risk of 10.4 (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 4.0 to 26.6). The carcinoma was more frequent in males (2.3 per 100 000) than in females (0.7 per 100 000), with a relative risk of 3.4 (CI 1.3 to 9.3). Incidence increased with age; the trend was statistically significant in Aborigines (X21, = 4.7, P < 0.05) but not in non‐Aborigines (X21 = 3.4, P > 0.05). Hepatitis B virus (HBV) serology was available fo..