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Diabetes increased risk for HCC mortality in middle-aged, elderly patients

Middle-aged and elderly Taiwanese patients with diabetes had an increased risk for death from hepatocellular carcinoma, according to new study results.

Researchers conducted a cohort study of 50,080 Taiwanese patients (mean age, 53.9 years; 53% women) without chronic hepatitis B or C virus infection and cirrhosis between January 1998 and December 2008, to determine any associations between diabetes, dyslipidemia and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The follow-up period was 10 years and completed by 88% of the cohort.

Univariate Cox regression analyses revealed that high fasting glucose (HR=1.64; 95% CI, 1.27-2.11) and a history of diabetes (HR=3.64; 95% CI, 2.59-5.12) were associated with increased risk for HCC mortality among all patients. Patients with hypertriglyceridemia (HR=0.48; 95% CI, 0.34-0.67) and hypercholesterolemia (HR=0.46; 95% CI, 0.36-0.6) had a decreased risk for HCC mortality.

In multivariate analyses, history of diabetes also was positively associated with death from HCC (P<.0001), particularly in women (HR=4.87; 95% CI, 2.68-8.84). Patients who had a history of diabetes, but no hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia, had an increased risk for HCC death (HR=21.8; 95% CI, 11.3-50), compared with patients without a history of diabetes, but with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Patients with metabolic syndrome, particularly men, also displayed an inverse association with HCC mortality (HR=0.62; 95% CI, 0.43-0.89), as defined by International Diabetes Federation criteria.

“We demonstrated that diabetes was positively associated with deaths from HCC; however, hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia were inversely associated with deaths from HCC,” the researchers wrote. “We suggest that middle-aged and elderly individuals having diabetes deserve HCC surveillance to reduce deaths from HCC.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.