This application is a request for funds ($25,000.00) to provide travel and lodging for participants in a workshop on the use of alpha fetoprotein (AFP) screening for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The workshop will be held September 15-18, 1988 at the Sheraton Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. HCC is one of the most common malignant neoplasms in the world, causing more than 250,000 deaths per year. Survival following diagnosis of symptomatic tumors is uniformly poor, whereas studies in China and Alaska have shown that resection of small asymptomatic tumors leads to long survival and possibly cure. Groups at high risk of HCC have been identified, including chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus, persons with alcoholic or other causes of cirrhosis and persons with chronic non-A non-B hepatitis. Since early detection of HCC is the only available method for improving the prognosis of this disease, several studies have been done using AFP or other serologic markers or radiographic techniques to detect HCC at a resectable stage. While AFP is considered the best marker for early detection of HCC, other serologic markers show promise as does ultrasonography. There is no consensus, however, as to which populations should be screened, which tests should be performed and how often screening should be done. This workshop will be a forum for researchers in early detection of HCC to exchange their most current information. The participants will develop recommendations for screening high-risk populations and criteria for evaluation of other promising serologic and radiographic tests. Procedures will be adopted for international collaboration on exchange of information and projects for detection of HCC. The participants will include the 20 leading investigators of early detection of HCC from the United States, China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa and New Zealand.
| McMahon, B J; London, T (1991) Workshop on screening for hepatocellular carcinoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 83:916-9 |
