Hepatitis C virus attributable liver cancer in the country of Georgia, 2015–2019: a case–control study

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BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to a type of primary liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Georgia, a high HCV prevalence country, started an HCV elimination program in 2015. In addition to tracking incidence and mortality, surveillance for the HCV-attributable fraction of HCC is an important indicator of the program's impact. This study assesses HCV infection-attributable HCC in the Georgian population. METHODS: This case-control study utilized HCV programmatic and Georgian Cancer Registry data from 2015-2019. Bivariate logistic regression and age- and sex-stratified analyses assessed HCV and liver cancer association. HCV-attributable liver cancer proportions for the HCV-exposed and total population were calculated. A sub-analysis was performed for HCC cases specifically. RESULTS: The total study population was 3874 with 496 liver cancer cases and 3378 controls. The odds for HCV-infected individuals developing liver cancer was 20.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.97-25.37), and the odds of developing HCC was 16.84 (95% CI 12.01-23.83) compared to the HCV-negative group. Odds ratios varied across strata, with HCV-infected older individuals and women having higher odds of developing both liver cancer and HCC. A large proportion of liver cancer and HCC can be attributed to HCV in HCV-infected individuals; however, in the general population, the burden of liver cancer and HCC cannot be explained by HCV alone. CONCLUSION: HCV was significantly associated with a higher risk of developing liver cancer and HCC in the Georgian population. In addition, given Georgia's high HCV burden, increased HCC monitoring in HCV-infected patients is needed.

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