HIV specialists may be much less likely than hepatologists to screen for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, the most common form of liver cancer) among those with hepatitis B virus (HBV), Healio reports. Publishing their findings in Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers analyzed data on 114 people coinfected with HIV and HBV and 225 people monoinfected with hep B who received care at one large, metropolitan academic medical center.

During a two-year period, 36 percent of those individuals who received care from HIV specialists were screened for liver cancer, compared with 82 percent of those seen by hepatologists. A total of 1.8 percent of the screened coinfected individuals had evidence of liver cancer, compared with 16 percent of those screened who just had HBV.

The study authors concluded that HIV specialists should make improving their rate of liver cancer screenings a priority.

To read the Healio article, click here.

To read the study abstract, click here.