Each year, hepatocellular carcinoma is diagnosed in more than half a million people worldwide, including approximately 20,000 new cases in the United States. Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh in women. Most of the burden of disease (85%) is borne in developing countries, with the highest incidence rates reported in regions where infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is endemic: Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 1). Hepatocellular carcinoma rarely occurs before the age of 40 years and reaches a peak at approximately 70 years of age......

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