الفهرس 
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Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignant tumor of the liver. It is considered the fifth most commonly occurring cancer in the world and the third most frequent cause of death from cancer. (1)
Fattovich et al (2004) (2) stated that HCC is currently the major cause of liver-related death in patients with cirrhosis.
Epidemiology:
Globally, over 560 000 people develop liver cancer each year and an almost equal number (550 000) die of it. The highest prevalence areas are Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Asia (including Japan and China), representing more than 80% of cases worldwide. Alone, China accounts for more than 50 % of cases in the world. The lowest prevalence areas are North and South America, Northern Europe and New Zealand. (3)
The highest frequency of HCC in the African and Oriental races is explained by the nearly almost associated cirrhosis among these races(4), as well as the prevalence of factors that carry a risk for the disease namely viruses; chemicals; alcohol and oral contraceptive pills.(5)
As regards sex, the reported male to female ratio approximates 4:1 and tends to be higher in endemic than non-endemic areas. The incidence rate tends to increase with age as more cases are reported in old age. However, in endemic areas of Asia and Africa, HCC is seen frequently in individuals less than 40 years of age. (6)
Survival rates of primary liver cancer are uniformly poor in both high-rate and low-rate areas. The international agency for research on cancer estimates that the standardized worldwide incidence rate of primary liver cancer among males is 17.4/100 000 in less developed countries and 8.7/100 000 in developed countries. The comparable mortality rate are 16.8/100 000 and 8.1/100 000 respectively, indicating little difference in survival in the contrasting areas. (3)