BACKGROUND:Diabetes mellitus(DM)is thought to be associated with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)in some published studies.However,can we draw the conclusion that DM is a'true'independent risk factor for HCC based on these references? DATA SOURCES:MEDLINE and PubMed searches were conducted for published studies(between January 1966 and June 2009)to identify relevant articles using the keywords 'diabetes','insulin resistance'and'hepatocellular carcinoma',including'primary liver cancer'.Because of the very limited number of relevant articles most were reviewed. RESULTS:This systematic review was conducted from 4 aspects:(1)the significant synergy between DM,hepatitis virus infection,and heavy alcohol consumption in HCC; (2)the role of DM independently in HCC cases while other identified risk factors were controlled or excluded; (3)obesity,DM,and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in HCC patients;and(4)the impact of DM for the prognosis or surgical treatment in HCC patients with DM.No consensus has been reached among these studies and it is too early to draw the conclusion that DM is a'true' independent risk factor for HCC. CONCLUSIONS:DM can be regarded as a risk factor for HCC.However,whether DM itself directly predisposes to HCC or whether it is a'true'independent risk factor remains unclear.Related issues should be clarified by more research.
BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is regarded as a new risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but few studies have focused on the potential role of DM in the progression of cirrhosis to HCC as well as in patients with simple HBV infection. METHODS: A cohort of 1028 patients, treated at our hospital and with a hospital discharge diagnosis of HCC and/or cirrhosis, was screened. Among them, 558 were diagnosed with chronic HBV infection and 370 were analyzed statistically according to the diagnostic, inclusion and exclusion criteria. The demographic, clinical, metabolic, virological, biochemical, radiological and pathological features were analyzed and the multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the potential role of DM. RESULTS: In 248 cirrhotic patients, 76 were diabetic and their mean duration of DM was 4.6 years. In 122 HCC patients with cirrhosis, 25 were diabetic and their mean duration of DM was 4.4 years. Univariate analysis showed that compared with cirrhotic patients, the HCC patients had a higher percentage in males (P=0.001), a lower percentage in DM patients (P=0.039), a higher percentage in cigarette smokers (P=0.005), a higher percentage in patients with AFP>400 ng/mL (P<0.001), higher values of white blood cells (P<0.001), hemoglobin (P<0.001) and platelet (P<0.001), increased levels of ALT (P<0.001) and GGT (P<0.001), higher total bilirubin (P=0.018) and albumin levels (P<0.001), and a lower international normalized ratio (P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that DM was anindependent associated factor for HCC [odds ratio (OR)=0.376; 95% CI, 0.175-0.807; P=0.012]. Even after the HCC patients were restricted to those with decompensated cirrhosis and compared with decompensated cirrhotic patients, the similar result was observed (OR=0.192; 95% CI, 0.054-0.679; P=0.010). CONCLUSIONS: DM is an independent factor in the progression of cirrhosis to HCC, but the role may be contrary to our current viewpoint. To clarify the causa
Chun GaoLong FangHong-Chuan ZhaoJing-Tao LiShu-Kun Yao
