Earlier Onset of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients with Multiple Poor Lifestyle Habits - Abstract
Background: Some studies have reported poor lifestyle habits (consumption
of alcohol, smoking, and obesity) is the risk of Hepato Cellular Carcinoma (HCC).
However, the effect of lifestyle habits on the age of HCC onset remains unknown.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to clarify whether multiple poor lifestyle habits
lower the age of HCC onset in chronic hepatitis C patients.
Methods: Subjects were 441 consecutive patients at Saga Medical School Hospital
who tested positive for hepatitis C virus antibody and were diagnosed as having HCC
between 2000 and 2010. Electronic medical records were extracted from the data
warehouse, and the relationships between lifestyle habits and the age of HCC onset
were analyzed.
Results: After excluding116 patients who were hepatitis B surface antigen
positive or negative for hepatitis C virus-RNA, had a history of interferon treatment,
had ascites, or had missing information for the survey items relating to lifestyle factors,
data were analyzed for the remaining 325 patients. Patients who consumed ?60
g/day of alcohol, smoked ?1 pack/day, or had BMI of ?25 had earlier onset of
cancer than the other patients. Multivariate analysis revealed these three factors as
independent contributors to the earlier onset of HCC. The presence of these three
factors further contributed to lowering the age at onset.
Conclusion: Multiple poor lifestyle habits lead to an earlier onset of HCC in
chronic hepatitis C patients.