Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been associated with HCC. However, the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus and the underlying liver cirrhosis, and the effects of antidiabetic therapy on HCC risk have not yet been fully evaluated.
A research team led by Dr. Valter Donadon from Pordenone Hospital addressed this question. Their study will be published on May 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
Four hundred and sixty five HCC patients, 618 cirrhosis patients and 490 control subjects were enrolled in this study. They evaluated the odds ratio (OR) for HCC by univariate and multivariate analysis. Moreover, OR for HCC in diabetic subjects treated with insulin or sulphanylureas and with metformin were calculated.
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 31.2% in HCC, 23.3% in cirrhotic patients and 12.7% in the Control group. By univariate and multivariate analysis, the OR for HCC in diabetic patients were respectively 3.12 (95%CI: 2.2-4.4, P < 0.001) and 2.2 (95%CI: 1.2-4.4, P = 0.01). In 84.9% of cases, type 2 diabetes mellitus was present before the diagnosis of HCC. Moreover, we report an OR for HCC of 2.99 (95%CI: 1.34-6.65, P = 0.007) in diabetic patients treated with insulin or sulphanylureas, and an OR of 0.33 (CI 0.1-0.7, P = 0.006) in diabetic patients treated with metformin.
This study demonstrates that type 2 diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for HCC and pre-exists in the majority of HCC patients. In male HCC, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, their data shows a direct association of HCC risk with insulin and sulphanylureas treatment and an inverse relationship with metformin therapy.
***
Reference: Donadon V, Balbi M, Ghersetti M, Grazioli S, Perciaccante A, Della Valentina G, Gardenal R, Dal Mas M, Casarin P, Zanette G, Miranda C. Antidiabetic therapy and increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic liver disease. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(20): 2506-2511 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/2506.asp
Correspondence to: Dr. Valter Donadon, Department of Medicine, Internal Medicine 3rd, Pordenone Hospital, Via Montereale 24, Pordenone 33170, Italy. [email protected]
About World Journal of Gastroenterology
World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.
About The WJG Press
The WJG Press mainly publishes World Journal of Gastroenterology.