Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer on the Island of Guam

Abstract

Patient records from the Guam Cancer Registry were compared with patients listed in a health departmentviral hepatitis case registry and the numbers of liver cancer and viral hepatitis cases were compared by ethnicity.Hepatitis C was the form of viral hepatitis most common among liver cancer cases on Guam (63.3% of viralhepatitis-associated liver cancer cases). Since viral hepatitis is an important cause of liver cancer, studies suchas the present one may provide the information necessary to establish programs (screening of populations atrisk and infant vaccination in the case of hepatitis B, for example) that may lessen the impact of liver cancer inthe future.