[Early diagnosis and early treatment for liver cancer in Qidong: survival of patients and effectiveness of screening].

Objective: To evaluate the patients' survival and effectiveness of the live cancer screening for population at high risk for liver cancer in Qidong. Methods: According to the Expert Scheme proposed the Expert Committee of Early Detection and Early Treatment, China Cancer Foundation, diagnostical screening by using combined methods of alpha-fetoprotein and B ultrasound monitoring were carried out biannually in individuals with positive HBsAg who were screened from Qidong area. The evaluation indices of the effectiveness are task completion rate of screening, detection rate of liver cancer, early diagnosis rate, and treatment rate. The deadline of the follow-up for the surviving outcome was March 31, 2016. The life-table method was used to calculate the observed survival, and to make comparison and significant tests between survival rates in Group A (those found via repeated periodic screening) and Group B (those diagnosed without periodic screening). Results: Since 2007, 38 016 target population have been screened, and 3 703(9.74%) individuals with positive HBsAg were found. Except for 29 patients with liver cancer at the initial screening, 3 674 persons in the cohort were followed up; 268 patients with liver cancer were detected from the 33 199 person-times screening, with an annual detection rate of 1.61%. Of them, 186 patients were found in Group A(1.12%), in which 149 patients were the early cases, with an early detection rate of 80.11%; 167 out of 186(89.78%) patients received treatment after diagnosis. The incidence of liver cancer in this HBsAg (+ ) cohort of 25 452 person-years was 1 052.96 per 100 000 annually, 187 cases in males(1 488.45/100 000)and 81 cases in females(628.46/100 000). The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year survival of all patients with liver cancer were 64.55%, 40.50%, 32.54%, and 19.65%, respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year survival rates were 77.16%, 49.04%, 38.53%, and 24.25% in Group A, and were 36.25%, 21.21%, 21.21%, and 0% in Group B, respectively, with significant differences between two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: The findings show that screening of individuals at high-risk of development of liver cancer, with semiannual AFP and B ultrasound, according to the Expert Scheme, is effective not only in increasing detection rate but also in detecting liver cancer at early stage, and in improving patients' survival as well.