Cirrhosis and primary cancer of the liver.Comparative study in Tokyo and Cincinnati

A survey of 3,232 autopsies in Tokyo revealed 59 examples of primary hepatic cancer and 124 examples of liver cirrhosis. This result, with emphasis on the interrelationship of these two lesions based on the classification of cirrhosis, was compared with similar findings in a survey made by E. A. Gall in Cincinnati, Ohio, under comparable circumstances. There is an agreement in the fact that significant causative relation exists only between hepatocellular carcinoma and nonspecific cirrhosis. The higher incidence of primary hepatic cancer in Tokyo may be due to the following facts: Types A and B (postnecrotic and posthepatitic) cirrhosis, which may be called hepatoma-related, seem to be more active in Tokyo: The former shows higher incidence in number, and the latter shows higher possibility of malignant complication. On the other hand, type C (nutritional) cirrhosis, which may be called hepatoma-unrelated, seems to be more common in Cincinnati.