Association between Body Mass Index and Diabetes and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Rohit Loomba, Marc Ghany
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2008)

Letters15 January 2008Association between Body Mass Index and Diabetes and Hepatocellular CarcinomaRohit Loomba, MD, MHSc and Marc Ghany, MDRohit Loomba, MD, MHScFrom Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.Search for more papers by this author and Marc Ghany, MDFrom Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-148-2-200801150-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read with interest the article by Ikeda and colleagues (1) suggesting an association between antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The investigators conducted a careful multivariable analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model and included several recognized risk factors for the development of HCC, such as age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, and response to interferon therapy, in addition to anti-HBc status.However, several epidemiologic studies and a meta-analysis that included patients from Asia and the West have shown an association of body mass ...References1. Ikeda K, Marusawa H, Osaki Y, Nakamura T, Kitajima N, Yamashita Y, et al. Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen and risk for hepatitis C-related hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective study. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:649-56. [PMID: 17470833] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Kusakabe A, Tanaka Y, Orito E, Sugauchi F, Kurbanov F, Sakamoto T, et al. A weak association between occult HBV infection and non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan. J Gastroenterol. 2007;42:298-305. [PMID: 17464459] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. El-Serag HB, Hampel H, Javadi F. The association between diabetes and hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review of epidemiologic evidence. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2006;4:369-80. [PMID: 16527702] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Marrero JA, Fontana RJ, Fu S, Conjeevaram HS, Su GL, Lok AS. Alcohol, tobacco and obesity are synergistic risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. J Hepatol. 2005;42:218-24. [PMID: 15664247] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Caldwell SH, Crespo DM, Kang HS, Al-Osaimi AM. Obesity and hepatocellular carcinoma. Gastroenterology. 2004;127:S97-103. [PMID: 15508109] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Rohit Loomba, MD, MHSc; Marc Ghany, MDAffiliations: From Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAntibody to Hepatitis B Core Antigen and Risk for Hepatitis C–Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Kazuki Ikeda , Hiroyuki Marusawa , Yukio Osaki , Takefumi Nakamura , Naoto Kitajima , Yukitaka Yamashita , Masatoshi Kudo , Tosiya Sato , and Tsutomu Chiba Metrics Cited byBody Mass Index and Waistline are Predictors of Survival for Hepatocellular Carcinoma After HepatectomyTreatment of Hepatitis B 15 January 2008Volume 148, Issue 2Page: 166-167KeywordsBody mass indexDiabetes mellitusHepatitis BHepatitis CHepatocellular carcinomaInterferonsLiver diseasesMedical risk factorsNonalcoholic steatohepatitisObesity ePublished: 15 January 2008 Issue Published: 15 January 2008 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2008 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...