Older age, presence of portal hypertension, history of blood transfusion, and male sex were independently associated with higher odds of developing HCC.
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease that can progress to cirrhosis of the liver. Patients with PBC are at increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the absolute risk in this population is not high enough to recommend widespread HCC screening. Could a combination of clinical factors be used to identify patients who are at particularly high risk and therefore might benefit from screening?
To address this question, investigators conducted a case-control study among PBC patients at Mayo Clinic. Seventeen cases of HCC were identified and matched with 56 controls (patients with PBC but not HCC) according to the year of their first clinic visit. PBC diagnoses were made based on laboratory and histolog…