Diabetes is not associated with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with alcoholic or hepatitis C virus cirrhosis

• Carlos Rodríguez-Escaja ^[1] ; Carmen Á. Navascués ^[1] ; Luisa González-Diéguez ^[1] ; Valle Cadahía ^[1] ; María Varela ^[1] ; Andrés Castaño-García ^[1] ; Miguel Ángel de Jorge ^[1] ; Manuel Rodríguez ^[1]
  1. [1] Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias

     Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias

     Oviedo, España

     
• Localización: Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas, ISSN-e 2340-4167, ISSN 1130-0108, Vol. 113, Nº. 7, 2021, págs. 505-511
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Background and aims: diabetes has been reported as a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in population-based studies but there are controversial data in patients with cirrhosis. Metformin could have a protective role in HCC development. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of diabetes on the risk of developing HCC in patients with alcohol- and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis. Methods: a cohort of 982 Caucasian patients were analyzed with alcoholic or HCV cirrhosis, included from 1992 to 2014 in a HCC surveillance program and prospectively followed. The influence of diabetes on the development of HCC was analyzed by Kaplan Meier analysis and adjusted with a Cox regression for relevant co-factors. Results: after a median follow-up of 49.5 (24.0-96.0) months, 156 patients (15.8 %) developed HCC. There were no differences in the cumulative incidences of HCC after 20 years between diabetic and non-diabetic patients in the global (53.5 % vs 45.4 %; p = 0.26), alcoholic (50.4 % vs 45.4 %; p = 0.21) or HCV (60 % vs 43.1 %; p = 0.57) cirrhosis series. Diabetes did not constitute a risk factor after adjusting for other potential co-factors, neither in the whole series (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.12, 95 % CI: 0.78-1.51; p = 0.26), alcoholic (HR: 1.160, 95 % CI: 0.74-1.82; p = 0.50) or HCV cirrhosis cohort (HR: 1.17, 95 % CI: 0.63-2.19; p = 0.60). These figures did not change after excluding patients treated with metformin. Conclusions: in Caucasian patients with alcoholic or HCV cirrhosis, diabetes is not a risk factor for developing HCC. This lack of an association does not seem to be a consequence of the protective effect of metformin.