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Abstract Details
Rates of decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma and mortality in AMA-negative primary biliary cholangitis cirrhosis
Liver Int. 2022 Feb;42(2):384-393. doi: 10.1111/liv.15079. Epub 2021 Oct 12.
1Division of Hepatology, Bruce W Carter VA Medical Center, Miami, Florida, USA.
2Division of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.
3Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
4Department of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida, USA.
5Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
6VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, USA.
7Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
8Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
Background: The natural history of patients with anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA)-negative Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) cirrhosis has not been well defined, with prior studies showing discordant results. Furthermore, most studies of AMA-negative PBC have limited numbers of patients with cirrhosis and liver-related outcomes.
Methods: We investigated the association of AMA-negative PBC and the development of death, liver-related death, decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in a large cohort of predominantly male patients with PBC cirrhosis assembled from the Veterans Health Administration.
Results: In a cohort of 521 patients with PBC cirrhosis (65 AMA-negative) with a total follow-up of 2504.3 person-years (PY) from cirrhosis diagnosis, patients with AMA-negative PBC were younger and more likely to be black but had similar rates of UDCA response. AMA-negative PBC cirrhosis was associated with similar unadjusted rates of liver-related death (4.6 vs 5.9 per 100 PY, P = .44), overall death (7.7 vs 9.6 per 100 PY, P = .31), decompensation (7.3 vs 5.1 per 100 PY, P = .12) and HCC (0.6 vs 1.0 per 100 PY, P = .63) to AMA-positive PBC. After adjusting for confounders, AMA-negative PBC cirrhosis was associated with similar rates of liver-related death (sub-Hazard Ratio [sHR] 1.27, 95% CI 0.71-2.28, P = .42, death [sHR] 1.24, 95% CI 0.81-1.90, P = .32), decompensation (sHR 1.05, 95% CI 0.56-1.98, P = .87) and HCC (sHR 0.48, 95% CI 0.11-2.10, P = .33) to AMA-positive patients.
Conclusion: In a cohort of predominantly male patients, AMA-negative PBC cirrhosis was associated with similar rates of overall or liver-related death, HCC or decompensation compared with AMA-positive disease.