Alcohol use disorders may drive HCC progression in patients with diabetes
LONDON — Alcohol misuse was a primary trigger for progression of liver disease to hepatocellular carcinoma among a subset of French patients with type 2 diabetes, according to data presented at the International Liver Congress.
“A history of alcohol use disorders accounted for more than half of the HCC burden of patients with type 2 diabetes in France from 2011 to 2020,” Lucia Parlati, a PhD student at the Cochin Institute in Paris, said. “Male patients with type 2 diabetes, aged between 65 and 70, with a history of alcohol use disorders were at a higher risk of HCC.”

In a longitudinal, retrospective study, Parlati and colleagues analyzed 2,883,684 patients (mean age, 67 years; 54% men) with type 2 diabetes using the 2011 to 2020 National Hospital Discharge database. Researchers measured incidences of HCC, liver disease progression and death.
According to results, HCC incidence was 1.19 (95% CI, 1.17-1.21) per 1,000 person-years at risk, which totaled 26,136 cases (0.9%) over 12,504,690 patient-years. Researchers further recorded a history of alcohol use disorders among 55% of patients and non-metabolic liver-related risk factors among 21% of patients.
In patients without well-identified risk factors for liver disease progression, HCC
incidence was 0.57 (95% CI, 0.55-0.58) per 1,000 person-years at risk. A higher risk for HCC was independently associated with male sex, age 40 to 70 years, alcohol use disorders (adjusted OR = 20.8; 95% CI, 20-21.5) and obesity (aOR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.2-1.28).
“Alcohol use is a modifiable risk factor and patients with type 2 diabetes should be advised to abstain from alcohol,” Parlati said.