Background /objective: Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rarely observed in patients without liver cirrhosis (LC). We evaluated the incidence and clinical feature of HCV-associated HCC patients with or without LC.
Methods The medical records of 1,516 patients diagnosed as having primary HCC at our hospital between January 2005 and December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 154 (10.2%) HCV-associated HCC patients were analyzed. LC was diagnosed histologically or clinically.
Results Seventeen (11.0%) of the 154 patients had non-cirrhotic HCC, and all were of Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class A, Among the 17 patients, 88.2% were male, all had nodular type HCC, and only 2 (11.8%) were under HCC surveillance. Median overall survival (OS) of HCV-associated HCC patients with and without LC was 15 months and 37 months, respectively. Cumulative OS rates were not different between non-cirrhotic patients and cirrhotic patients with CTP class A (P=0.229). Cumulative OS rates were significantly higher in non-cirrhotic patients than in cirrhotic patients of CTP class B (P<0.001) or C (P<0.001). Multivariate analyses showed serum AST (hazard ratio [HR] 1.01, P=0.003) and AFP levels (HR 1.01, P=0.016), antiviral therapy (HR 0.25, P=0.022), and LC of CTP class B (HR, 5.24, P=0.006) or C (HR 21.79, P<0.001) were significantly associated with prognosis in HCV-associated HCC patients.
Conclusions HCC in a non-cirrhotic liver was found in 11% of HCV-associated HCC patients. OSs of HCV-associated HCC patients were better in those of CTP A, regardless of LC than in those with LC of CTP class B or C.
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Background/Aims Cirrhosis has generally been considered a prerequisite for hepatitis C
virus (HCV)-infected livers to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but HCCs that arise
in absence of cirrhosis has been reported. We assessed the prevalence and significance of
cirrhosis in HCV-related HCC patients who underwent surgical resection. Methods A total of 78 HCC patients (65 male [83.3%]; mean age, 64.2 ± 8.6 years) were
evaluated for the presence of cirrhosis. Cirrhosis was assessed based on histology, aspartate
aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) as well as clinical criteria, such as ascites,
varices, thrombocytopenia, splenomegaly, and radiographic configuration of cirrhosis. Results Based on histology, cirrhosis, septal fibrosis, periportal fibrosis and no fibrosis
was noticed in 33.3%, 60.3%, 5.1% and 1.3% of patients, respectively. The clinical criteria of
cirrhosis were present in 76.9% of patients. APRI > 1.0 was seen in 47.4% of patients. There
was no evidence of cirrhosis in 18 patients (23.1%), either by histology or clinically. Cirrhosis
by histology was an independent factor for overall survival [hazard ratio: 3.87 (95% CI: 1.24 –
12.00), P=0.019]. Conclusions Quite proportion of HCC patients had no evidence of cirrhosis, either by
histology or clinically. Careful follow-up for HCC may be necessary even for non-cirrhotic HCVinfected
Korean patients. (J Liver Cancer 2014;14:108-114)