Abstract

A substantial proportion of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) do not have cirrhosis. Data regarding the incidence and predictors of HCC development in NAFLD without cirrhosis are limited. We conducted a large, national study of NAFLD patients without documented cirrhosis to examine the incidence and predictors for HCC development.This retrospective study included 751,603 NAFLD patients (54% female) without documented cirrhosis derived from the deidentified Optum Clinformatics® Data Mart Database. Patients with cirrhosis, platelets??2.67 were excluded.The mean age was 53.7?±?15.0 years, 45.9% were male, 39.5% had diabetes, 57.6% were White, 18.4% Hispanic, 8.2% Black and 4.9% were Asian. The mean platelet count was 264,000?±?72,000/µL, and 96.3% of patients had a FIB-4??150,000/µL (0.23 per 1000 person-years, vs. 0.04 per 1000 person-years, p?=?0.02) but not in subgroup analyses for age, sex, race/ethnicity or diabetes. Using multivariable Cox proportional hazards model adjusted multiple confounders, platelet count?=?150,000/µL remained an independent predictor of HCC development (adjusted HR 5.80, 95% CI 1.67-20.1, p?=?0.006).HCC incidence in NAFLD without documented cirrhosis was below the threshold for cost-effective HCC surveillance in overall and multiple subgroup analyses. Platelet count?

View details for DOI 10.1007/s12072-023-10616-8

View details for PubMedID 38079023

View details for PubMedCentralID 8215299