Burden of mortality from hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract cancers by race and ethnicity and sex in US, 2018–2023

Sep 21, 2026

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Population-based trends in mortality were analyzed for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and biliary tract cancers by sex, race, and ethnicity in US adults from 2018 to 2023. The study used US national mortality records and ICD-10 case identification, with temporal changes estimated via joinpoint analysis and annual percentage change (APC). HCC-related mortality declined steadily, while intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and ampulla of Vater cancer mortality increased linearly. Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma remained stable during the COVID-19 period, whereas gallbladder cancer mortality decreased.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Study Highlights

Backgrounds/Aims

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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pISSN 2287-2728 eISSN 2287-285X Original Article [https://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2024.0318](https://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2024.0318)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2024.0318)Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2024;30:756-770 Burden of mortality from hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract cancers by race and ethnicity and sex in US, 2018–2023 Donghee Kim1, Richie Manikat1, Karn Wijarnpreecha2,3, George Cholankeril4,5, and Aijaz Ahmed1 1Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA; 2Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ; 4 Liver Center, Division of Abdominal Transplantation, Michael E DeBakey Department of General Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX; 5Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA Graphical Abstract Year HCC_underlying cause of death (UCOD) HCC_multiple cause of death (MCOD) Age-standa rd ized mortality Hepatocellular carcinoma-related mortality decreased steadily before and from 2018 to 2023. While the intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and ampulla of Vater cancer-related mortality increased steadily, extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma-related mortality remained stable before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, gallbladder cancer-related mortality decreased during the study period. Year Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) Gallbladder cancer (GBca) Ampulla of Vater cancer (AVC) Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association for the Study of the Liver This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/)) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Donghee Kim, et al. Mortality from HCC and biliary tract cancers Study Highlights • In this population-based US national study (n=18,527,426), annual mortality due to HCC decreased steadily before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the mortality associated with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and ampulla ofVater cancer increased linearly, extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma-related mortality remained stable during the study. In contrast, mortality due to gallbladder cancer decreased steadily. Racial and ethnic minority individuals in the US have a disproportionately higher burden of mortality resulting from HCC and biliary tract cancers. Recent declines in HCC may be primarily due to declines among racial and ethnic minority individuals and males. Backgrounds/Aims: The trends in mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and biliary tract cancers stratified by sex and race/ethnicity in the US continue to evolve. We estimated the sex-and race/ethnicity-based trends in HCCand biliary tract cancers-related mortality in US adults with a focus on disease burden. Methods: We performed a population-based analysis using the US national mortality records from 2018 to 2023. We identified HCC and biliary tract cancer using appropriate ICD-10 codes. Temporal trends in mortality were calculated by joinpoint analysis with annual percentage change (APC). Results: Annual age-standardized mortality from HCC decreased steadily with an APC of –1.4%(95% confidence interval [CI] –2.0% to –0.7%). While there was a linear increase in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma-related mortality (APC 3.1%; 95% CI 1.2–4.9%) and ampulla of Vater cancer-related mortality (APC 4.1%; 95% CI 0.5–7.9%), gallbladder cancer-related mortality decreased (APC –1.9%; 95% CI –3.8% to –0.0%) . Decreasing trends in mortality from HCC were noted in males

FAQs

What cancers and outcomes were studied, and what time period was covered?

The study evaluated mortality trends for hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract cancers in the US across 2018–2023, using annual mortality estimates.

How did HCC-related mortality change over time?

HCC-related mortality decreased steadily during the study period, with a negative APC reported in the results.

Did mortality trends differ by race/ethnicity and sex?

Yes. Decreasing HCC mortality was seen more steeply among racial and ethnic minority individuals than among non-Hispanic White individuals, and decreasing trends were noted in males rather than females.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Eden