| [ Summary ] |
The epidemiology and prognosis for PSC patients in Japan is discussed based on nationwide surveys performed in 2007 and 2012. The prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis in Japan is estimated to be 0.95/100,000 persons, which is lower than rates in Europe. However those domestic rates seem to have increased recently, along with those in European countries. The characteristics of clinical PSC features include elderly patients diagnosed with PSC. In this group, the complication rates for IBD were limited to 12 %. Cholangiocarcinoma was found in 7.3 % of all PSC patients. Most of those were diagnosed within a year of the onset of PSC. The 5- and 10-year liver-transplantation free survival rates were 74.5 % and 63.8 %, respectively. |