Acylcarnitine: Useful biomarker for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in non-steatohepatitis patients

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of non-steatohepatitis patients without and with hepatocellular carcinoma

Variable	Total (n = 33)	Patients without HCC (n = 19)	Patients with HCC (n = 14)	P value
Age (yr)	73 (66–77)	73 (68–77)	72 (66–78)	NS
Sex (male ⁄ female)	20 ⁄ 13	9 ⁄ 10	11 ⁄ 3	NS
HBV/HCV/AIH	20/9/4	11/5/3	9/4/1	NS
Albumin (g/dL)	4.2 (3.8-4.5)	4.4 (4.3-4.6)	4.0 (3.8-4.1)	< 0.05
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	0.8 (0.7-1.2)	0.8 (0.8-1.2)	0.9 (0.6-1.2)	NS
Aspartate aminotransferase (IU/L)	29 (25-38)	29 (26-34)	28 (24-4)	NS
Alanine aminotransferase (IU/L)	24 (17-36)	21 (17-34)	27 (19-38)	NS
Alkaline phosphatase (IU/L)	314 (233-442)	314 (232-451)	343 (2252-432)	NS
γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (IU/L)	34 (24-45)	34 (24-43)	38 (24-63)	NS
Prothrombin time (%)	83 (75-90)	81 (77-86)	88 (68-96)	NS
Child–Pugh score	5.0 (5-6)	5.0 (5-5)	5.0 (5-6)	NS
Platelet count (× 104⁄μL)	12.9 (9.2-15.1)	11.9 (9.1-14.5)	13.6 (9.9-16.2)	NS
Maximum tumor size (cm)			1.2 (1.1-1.3)
Total tumor volume (cm3)			6.3 (5.0-14.2)
UICC TNM stage (stage 1/stage 2/stage 3)			1/9/4

Data are expressed as the median (interquartile range). P-values represent comparisons between non-steatohepatitis patients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma. HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; AIH: Autoimmune hepatitis; UICC: Union for International Cancer Control; TNM: Tumor-node-metastasis.