Clinicopathological features of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Abstract

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing. However, the clinicopathological features of HCC in these patients are little known. Thus, we investigated the differences in the clinical and pathological characteristics of HCC between NAFLD patients and hepatitis-C virus (HCV) patients. Data from 21 HCC patients with NAFLD and 645 HCC patients with HCV who underwent curative hepatectomy were collected and analyzed. To overcome bias due to differences in the distribution of covariates between the two groups, propensity score matching was performed, and clinicopathological features and outcomes were compared. In propensity score analysis, the rate of microscopic vascular invasion was significantly higher in the NAFLD group than in the HCV group (65 vs. 30%; P = 0.027). However, overall survival and disease-free survival did not differ between the two matched groups. NAFLD may have permissive microenvironment for HCC progression.