PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – Liver Cancer Awareness Month, held in October, is dedicated to information and awareness of liver cancer. To take stock of the pathways for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatocarcinoma, the Palermo Polyclinic with AZ Salute, biomedicine and health supplement of the Giornale di Sicilia, under the patronage of the Sicilian Region’s Department of Health, the EpaC-ETS Association, the Italian Society of the History of Medicine, and with the nonconditional contribution of Roche, promoted the talk show “Hepatocarcinoma: prevention and treatment” held this morning in the hall of Villa Malfitano in Palermo. Sicily was the first region in Italy to establish the Network for the treatment of hepatocarcinoma with Hub and Spoke centers with certification by an external body. A scientific achievement, but above all an important spin-off in terms of equity of care and assistance for all Sicilians. “The regional School of Specialization,” explains Professor Calogero Cammà, director of the Complex Operative Unit of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Policlinico ‘Paolo Giacconè in Palermo, “allows us to be at the forefront with the training of young gastroenterologists and above all in the ability to coordinate the regional network for hepatocarcinoma cancer. Palermo Polyclinic’s Gastroenterology Operating Unit has the expertise to assist the patient throughout the entire pathway: from diagnosis to treatment, including innovative approaches such as systemic therapy. “In the near future, it will be of fundamental importance to implement organizational models in which technological and digital innovation, thus artificial intelligence, can be integrated into daily clinical activity. “The numbers speak for themselves: about 150 patients followed, in one year, by the Palermo Polyclinic’s Gastroenterology Center, while there are about 180 cases discussed by the team. The time to diagnosis is between 15 and 20 days. “The Network has improved care pathways,” says Professor Giuseppe Cabibbo of the Complex Operative Unit of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Palermo Polyclinic, “optimizing diagnosis times and ensuring patients have the best treatment options. It has also lowered extra-regional mobility and, thanks to boards on a web-based platform, reduced the need for patient travel, between companies and Spoke and Hub centers. In addition, the multidisciplinary board,” Cabibbo continues, “is essential in the management of patients with hepatocarcinoma.The hepatologist-gastroenterologist represents the pivotal figure and the link between different professional figures in all phases of the patient’s pathway. “Hepatocarcinoma is the most frequent primary liver tumor that in most cases develops on a cirrhotic liver. This type of cancer is the third leading cause of death from malignancy worldwide, after lung and colon. Its incidence at the European level is 7 cases per 100,000 population among males and 2 per 100,000 among women. In Italy, according to the latest published data, 10,000 new cases of liver cancer were diagnosed, of which 75-85% were hepatocarcinoma, most of which show no symptoms until advanced stages. Only 30 to 40% of patients are diagnosed at the early stage.The major risk factor for the occurrence of hepatocarcinoma is co-infection of hepatitis C and B (responsible for about 85% of cases) or cirrhosis caused by alcohol abuse.Given that the main risk factors for the development of hepatocarcinoma include alcohol abuse, resulting in the development of cirrhosis, viral hepatitis, and metabolic syndrome, a key role can be played by prevention and the opportunity to refer patients for regular gastroenterological checkups, with the aim of diagnosing the possible presence of hepatocarcinoma at an early stage.”The level of excellence achieved by the Gastroenterology Unit in the management of liver diseases and in that of hepatocarcinoma,” says Maria Grazia Furnari, General Director of the Policlinico ‘Paolo Giacconè of Palermo, “has been realized in the official national PDTA (Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistential Pathways) certification of hepatocarcinoma, issued by Bureau Veritas Italia. Furnari – during the appointment attended by, among others, the mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla, and the rector, Massimo Midiri – announced the establishment of a Liver Unit starting in 2025. For Massimiliano Conforti, Vice President of the Epac-ETS Association, “fundamental to the care of the patient with liver cancer are the active presence of a multidisciplinary team and the expert management by the hepatologist, because one is in the presence of a tumor on an organ already damaged by cirrhosis almost in all cases. “Centers of excellence, such as the Policlinico di Palermo, make the difference because they have a staff of professionals who have always distinguished themselves in Italy and around the world for liver research in recent decades.”The most important aspect in diseases such as hepatocarcinoma is to be able to create a close agreement between the protagonists of these events that starts from prevention, that is, information, teachings, regarding lifestyle, which must be healthy, and regarding a proper diet,” said the Sicilian Region’s Health Councillor, Giovanna Volo. We must also have the possibility of screening in order to get to early diagnosis; all we have to hope for in our Region is to be in a position to offer our citizens everything regarding the capacity for information and education, as well as important clinical answers.”
– AZ Health press office photo -(ITALPRESS).
