Pandemic-Related Disruptions and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance in Safety-Net Settings

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is crucial for patients with cirrhosis, improving early diagnosis and patient outcomes.
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The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted HCC surveillance, with a reported 44% decline in monitoring rates among veterans with cirrhosis.
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Safety-net populations face unique barriers to HCC surveillance, leading to historically low rates of monitoring for cirrhosis patients.
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The study aims to assess whether HCC surveillance rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels among safety-net health populations.
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A cohort of 6940 patients with cirrhosis was analyzed to evaluate HCC surveillance trends before, during, and after the pandemic.

Jama Network Open

by Robert J. Wong, Patricia Jones, Bolin Niu, Paulo Pinheiro, Mae Thamer, Onkar Kshirsagar, Yi Zhang, Ronnie Fass, Daniela Prieto-Bello, Lisa Quirk, George Therapondos, Amit G. Singal, Mandana Khalili
May 22, 2026

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