Development of a Database for Storage and Analysis of Factors Affecting Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common solid tumor worldwide. There are 626,000 new cases per year of primary liver cancer worldwide, most of which are HCC. Over 1,000,000 people die of HCC per year, making HCC the third most frequent cause of cancer deaths worldwide1. Major etiologic factors associated with HCC include chronic HBV and HCV infection, chronic alcoholism, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and aflatoxin exposure. The standard treatment for HCC is surgical resection, however on presentation many patients have progressed to the point where such treatment is not an option, and are placed on liver transplant lists. Palliative treatment modalities are often used in the interim, including trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), or systemic chemotherapy. In this study over 200 patients who received either Therasphere or Sirsphere (TACE methods), or RFA treatment for unresectable HCC were catalogued in a relational database allowing for analysis of treatment outcomes and treatment comparisons. A Microsoft Access database was created to store data such as patient demographics, disease details, adverse events, patient lab values, treatment details, and pre- and post-lesion measurements. This database is currently in use by the department of Interventional Radiology at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.