Purpose: Both metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although concurrent MAFLD is common in patients with HBV-related HCC, whether MAFLD increases the risk of poor prognosis in patients with HBV-related HCC remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impact of MAFLD on prognosis in patients with HBV-related HCC.
Patients and Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 549 patients with HBV-related HCC were enrolled from January 2010 to April 2020 in Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, including 169 patients with MAFLD (MAFLD group) and 380 patients without MAFLD (Non-MAFLD group). Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to balance the baseline characteristics. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were performed to compare the prognosis between the two matched groups. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the risk factors for poor prognosis.
Results: The median follow-up time for all patients was 20 (interquartile range 8– 40) months. We found concurrent MAFLD was associated with a significantly decreased PFS rate before and after PSM analysis. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year PFS rates for the MAFLD and Non-MAFLD groups after PSM were 61.3% and 70.8%, 43.9% and 54.5%, 31.1% and 41.8%, respectively. Cox multivariable analysis showed that concurrent MAFLD was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis (death or progression) (HR = 1.49, P = 0.001). More interestingly, the risk of poor prognosis was significantly higher in the MAFLD subtype with metabolic components ≥ 2 compared to those with metabolic components < 2 (HR = 1.97, P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Concurrent MAFLD was associated with a higher risk of poor prognosis in patients with HBV-related HCC, especially MAFLD with metabolic components ≥ 2.
Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis B virus, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, poor prognosis