Previous studies have identified familial clustering of hepatocellular carcinoma in Asian populations – that is, a family history of hepatocellular carcinoma may increase the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, in Asia, where hepatitis B is highly prevalent, chronic hepatitis B virus infection also occurs in families, so the assertion that “family history of hepatocellular carcinoma increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma” is somewhat ambiguous. This study, published in the May 2012 issue of Hepatology, provides evidence from Europe. This conclusion was reached in case-control studies and meta-analyses conducted by researchers in Italy and France. In the case-control study, the authors collected 229 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma as cases and another 431 other hospitalized patients as controls. Patients with chronic hepatitis who had a family history of hepatocellular carcinoma had a 72.48-fold increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma compared with control patients who did not have chronic hepatitis B or C and did not have a family history of hepatocellular carcinoma. Family history of hepatocellular carcinoma increased the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma to 2.38 times; the higher the number of first-degree relatives with hepatocellular carcinoma, the higher the risk. In a meta-analysis that included nine case-control studies and four cohort studies of approximately 3,600 liver cancer cases, the authors found that family history increased the risk of liver cancer up to 2.5-fold, and that family history was independent of common risk factors for liver cancer, such as hepatitis virus infection. Regular surveillance of patients with chronic hepatitis B who have a family history of liver cancer is particularly important for early detection of tumors and thus potentially reduce mortality from liver cancer, the paper’s corresponding author told Medical News Today, emphasizing to La Vecchia.