Hepatitis B- and C-related hepatocellular carcinomas yield different clinical features and prognosis

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical features and survival in patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) and hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCV-HCC). A total of 2820 HCC patients were included. The mean age of HBV-HCC patients was 52.5 +/- 13.4 years, while it was 64.8 +/- 8.7 years in HCV-HCC patients. The male/female ratio was 7.8 in HBV-HCC, while it was 1.7 in HCV-HCC. The mean alpha-fetoprotein level in HBV-HCC was 11,661 +/- 22,805 ng/mL, while it was 5079 +/- 15,005 ng/mL in HCV-HCC. The mean tumour size was 6.4 +/- 4.1 cm in HBV-HCC, while it was 4.6 +/- 3.1 cm in HCV-HCC. The median survival was 11.1 months in HBV-HCC, while it was 23.9 months in HCV-HCC. Compared with HBV-HCC patients, HCV-HCC patients were older, had a lower male/female ratio, lower white blood cell count, lower serum albumin level, higher serum ALT level, lower serum alpha-fetoprotein level, smaller tumour size and survived longer. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.