Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis C genotype 3 infection: A systematic review

Table 1 Study level characteristics, risk estimates of hepatocellular carcinoma and adjusted covariates of included studies

Ref.	Country	Journal	SJR ranking quartile	Study design	Enrolment period	Study setting	Average follow-up (months)	HCV diagnosis	HCC diagnosis	Risk estimates of HCC	Covariates adjusted for
Aziz et al[27], 2019	Pakistan	Pak J Med Sc	Q3	Cross-sectional	June 2016 to January 2018	Hospital	6.0	HCV Ab, HCV RNA, and genotyping	USS abdomen, serum AFP, CT abdomen	Crude numbers	Exclusions: HBV, HIV, age < 18 yr or > 70 yr, pregnancy, previous liver lesion, “extremely fragile”, low bodyweight (not defined), known mental health issues, patients who were taking phenytoin, rifampicin, carbamazepine, patients with pancytopenia
Cha et al[29], 2016	Korea	Medicine	Q3	Retrospective case-control	January 2005 to December 2014	Hospital	59.6	HCV Ab, HCV RNA, and genotyping	USS abdomen, serum AFP, CT abdomen, histological examination	HR with 95% confidence interval	Patients with < 6 months of follow-up or patients with HCC diagnosed within 6 months of enrolment in the study
Khan et al[30], 2009	Pakistan	Journal of Medical Virology	Q1	Retrospective case-control	January 2006 to September 2007	Hospital	6.0	HCV Ab, HCV RNA, and genotyping	2 of 3 criteria: Serum AFP > 400 IU/mL, CT/MRI or liver biopsy	Crude numbers	Co-infection with HBV or HDV
Kanwal et al[19], 2014	United States	Journal of Hepatology	Q1	Retrospective cohort study	October 1999 to September 2009	Hospital	12.0	HCV Ab, HCV RNA, and genotyping	HCC (ICD-9 code 155.1)	HR with 95% confidence interval	< 1 yr of follow-up
Maryam et al[32], 2018	Pakistan	Journal of Medical Virology	Q1	Retrospective case-control	ND	Hospital	ND	HCV RNA and genotyping	Liver biopsy	Crude numbers	Nil
Park et al[35], 2019	Korea	BMC Cancer	Q1, Q2	Retrospective cohort study	January 2005 to December 2016	Hospital	24.0	HCV Ab, HCV RNA, and genotyping	USS abdomen, serum AFP, CT Abdomen, histological examination	Crude numbers	People with HIV and/or HBV, < 6 months of follow-up
Tayyab et al[34], 2020	Pakistan	BMC Gastroenterology	Q2	Prospective cohort	October 2014 to March 2017	Hospital	12.0	HCV Ab, HCV RNA, and genotyping	USS abdomen, serum AFP, CT abdomen	HR with 95% confidence interval	HBV co-infection

HCV: Hepatitis C virus; Ab: Antibody; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; CT: Computed tomography; USS: Ultrasound sonography; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus; SJR: Scimago Journal & Country Rank; Q: Quartile; HR: Hazard ratio; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.