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Abstract Details
Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Mar;21(3):670-680.e18. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2022.03.010.Epub 2022 Mar 17.
1Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; Population Informatics Lab, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
2Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
3Population Informatics Lab, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
4California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
5Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; Comprehensive Transplant Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
6Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; Comprehensive Transplant Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: judong.yang@cshs.org.
Abstract
Background & aims: The extent to which nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) contributes to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prevalence in contemporary practices and whether there are any etiologic differences in surveillance receipt, tumor stage, and overall survival (OS) remain unclear. We aimed to estimate the burden of NAFLD-related HCC and magnitude of associations with surveillance receipt, clinical presentation, and outcomes in a contemporary HCC cohort.
Methods: In a cohort of HCC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare database between 2011 and 2015, we used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with surveillance receipt, early-stage tumor detection, and curative treatment. Cox regression was used to identify factors associated with OS.
Results: Among 5098 HCC patients, NAFLD was the leading etiology, accounting for 1813 cases (35.6%). Compared with those with hepatitis C-related HCC, NAFLD was associated with lower HCC surveillance receipt (adjusted odds ratio, 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.28), lower early-stage HCC detection (adjusted odds ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.40-0.60), and modestly worse OS (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.09-1.32). NAFLD subgroup analysis showed that early-stage HCC, absence of ascites/hepatic encephalopathy, surveillance, and curative treatment receipt were associated with improved OS. NAFLD patients with coexisting liver disease were more likely to have surveillance, early-stage detection, curative treatment, and improved OS than NAFLD patients without coexisting liver diseases.
Conclusions: NAFLD is the leading etiology of HCC among Medicare beneficiaries. Compared with other etiologies, NAFLD was associated with lower HCC surveillance receipt, early-stage detection, and modestly poorer survival. Multifaceted interventions for improving surveillance uptake are needed to improve prognosis of patients with NAFLD-related HCC.