Clinical and radiologic characteristics of hepatoma in Japan and the United States

Hepatoma shows striking variation in frequency in different parts of the world. This paper compares the clinical and radiologic findings of hepatomas in two different countries. The authors reviewed clinical charts and radiologic examinations, including angiography and CT, of 159 patients at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Texas, U.S.A.) and 275 patients at the Kumamoto University Hospital (Kumamoto, Japan) between 1980 and 1989. Clinically, there were significant differences in average age (U.S.A., 50.4; Japan, 61.6); frequency of hepatitis B surface antigen (U.S.A., 19.8%; Japan 28.5%) and of liver cirrhosis (U.S.A. 25.2%, Japan, 87.2%)