Socioeconomic inequalities in diagnostics, care and survival outcomes for hepatocellular carcinoma in Sweden: a nationwide cohort study.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. This study evaluates how strongly socioeconomic factors associate with diagnostics, treatment, and survival among patients with HCC in Sweden. All adult patients registered with a diagnosis of HCC in the Swedish quality register for liver cancer between 2011 and 2021 were included. Household income was classified as low (first quartile; poorest), medium (second or third quartile), or high (in fourth quartile; wealthiest) based on the overall distribution of household income across all household in Sweden. Outcomes included likelihood of diagnosis under surveillance, early-stage diagnosis (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer [BCLC] staging 0-A), and receipt of curative treatment (ablation, resection or liver transplantation), as well as mortality risk. Among 5490 patients, a significant association was found between low household income and decreased likelihood of diagnosis while under surveillance (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0·63; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0·50-0·80), early-stage diagnosis (aOR 0·58; 95% CI: 0·51-0·67), and curative treatment receipt (aOR 0·65; 95% CI: 0·50-0·85). After adjustments for all variables in the BCLC, other sociodemographic variables, comorbidities, and cirrhosis status, patients with low household income had an adjusted hazard ratio for mortality of 1·29 (95% CI: 1·15-1·45) compared to patients with high household income. Socioeconomic disparities associate markedly with more advanced stage at HCC diagnosis, less curative treatment, and poorer survival in Sweden. Addressing these disparities through targeted public health interventions may improve HCC care and outcomes in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. The Swedish Cancer Society-Cancerfonden.