Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis: A comprehensive analysis from a decade-long study

Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics

Parameter	HCC cases (n = 1352)	Non-HCC controls (n = 4065)	P value
Sex (Male), n (%)	969 (71.7)	2598 (63.9)	< 0.001
Age	56 (50, 62)	54 (46, 62)	< 0.001
Hypertension, n (%)	255 (18.9)	727 (17.9)	0.419
Diabetes, n (%)	321 (23.7)	860 (21.2)	0.046
Coronary disease, n (%)	35 (2.6)	154 (3.8)	0.037
Gastrointestinal bleeding, n (%)	243 (18.0)	978 (24.1)	< 0.001
Hepatic encephalopathy, n (%)	219 (16.2)	633 (15.6)	0.584
Decompensated cirrhosis, n (%)	999 (73.9)	3150 (77.5)	0.007
Child-Pugh grade A, n (%)	430 (32.6)	1162 (29.5)	0.003
Child-Pugh grade B, n (%)	648 (49.1)	1893 (48.0)
Child-Push grade C, n (%)	241 (18.3)	890 (22.6)
HBV, n (%)	372 (27.5)	889 (21.9)	< 0.001
HCV, n (%)	93 (6.9)	261 (6.4)
AC, n (%)	261 (19.3)	1013 (24.9)
MASLD, n (%)	9 (0.7)	42 (1.0)
PBC, n (%)	72 (5.3)	398 (9.8)
Drug-induced cirrhosis, n (%)	12 (0.9)	54 (1.3)
Cryptogenic cirrhosis, n (%)	387 (28.6)	1072 (26.4)
Mixed cirrhosis, n (%)	146 (10.8)	336 (8.3)
ALT (U/L)	31.1 (21.2, 53.1)	27.0 (18.2, 47.5)	< 0.001
AST (U/L)	47.7 (31.7, 77.4)	44 (29.1, 79.9)	< 0.001
Albumin (g/L)	31.2 (27.4, 34.6)	30.7 (26.8, 34.8)	0.106
Globin (g/L)	31.6 (26.5, 37.1)	31.3 (25.7, 38.0)	0.268
INR	1.27 (1.12, 1.45)	1.32 (1.16, 1.54)	0.002
Prothrombin time (S)	14.2 (12.6, 16.3)	14.8 (13.0, 17.4)	0.017
Direct bilirubin (μmol/L)	11.0 (6.3, 19.2)	12.7 (6.6, 33.6)	0.001
Triglycerides (mmol/L)	0.81 (0.62, 1.11)	0.89 (0.67, 1.26)	< 0.001
Platelets (× 109/L)	78 (54, 109)	80 (54, 118)	0.096
γ-GT (U/L)	50.1 (26.0, 119.8)	53.7 (25.4, 143.8)	0.157
AFP (ng/mL)	4.64 (2.60, 10.35)	3.36 (2.02, 6.26)	< 0.001
CA19-9 (U/mL)	26.72 (13.76, 48.40)	25.00 (11.93, 52.82)	0.070
Neutrophils (× 109/L)	2.30 (1.59, 3.44)	2.43 (1.59, 3.76)	0.024
Serum ammonia (μg/dL)	73 (51, 95)	67 (46, 95)	< 0.001
MELD	8 (4, 12)	10 (5, 15)	< 0.001

HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; AC: Alcohol-associated cirrhosis; MASLD: Metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease; PBC: Primary biliary cirrhosis; Mixed cirrhosis: Cirrhosis caused by two or more etiologies; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate transaminase; INR: International normalized ratio; γ-GT: Gamma-glutamyltransferase; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; CA: Carbohydrate antigen; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.