Clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma with hepatitis B virus among patients on Nucleos(t) ide analog therapy

Background The clinical manifestation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with hepatitis B virus (HBV) varies significantly between patients treated with or without nucleos(t) ide analog (NUC) therapy. To have a better understanding of HCC with HBV, we compared the clinical features of patients with HCC receiving or not receiving NUC therapy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 76 patients with HBV-caused HCC who received treatment at the Hunan Provincial Peoples' Hospital starting from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2017. They were categorized into two groups, namely, NUC group and non-NUC group, based on whether they had received NUC therapy or not. Results The percentage of liver pain (36.36% vs. 79.07%; p < 0.05) and appetite loss (30.30% vs. 70.27%; p < 0.05) in the NUC group was lower than that in the non-NUC group. We observed a similar trend for the percentage of undetectable HBV-DNA (11.63% vs. 63.64%; p < 0.05) and normal ALT (25.58% vs. 75.76%; p < 0.05) between non-NUC and NUC groups. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to TBiL (p = 0.370) and ALB (p = 0.475). The same trend was observed for the proportion of HBeAg negative (p = 0.719) and AFP <= 14.65 ng/mL (p = 0.199) in both groups. Single tumor nodule was more common in the NUC group compared to the non-NUC group (66.67% vs. 6.98%; p < 0.05). An opposite trend was observed for portal vein invasion (18.18% vs. 79.07%; p < 0.05) and metastasis (0% vs. 44.19%; p < 0.05). Conclusions Nucleos(t) ide analog therapy exerts a significant impact on the clinical and radiological characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma with HBV. Patients receiving nucleos(t) ide analog therapy were found to have milder symptoms and fewer radiographic findings.