Alcohol Consumption Increases Liver Cancer Risk in Chronic Hepatitis B

Alcohol consumption was independently associated with a substantially higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), regardless of cirrhosis status. In this study of 1,010 CHB patients followed for a total of 3,684 person-years, 129 (12.77%) developed HCC. Compared with patients without HCC, those who developed HCC had higher alcohol intake, and each 100 g/week increase in alcohol consumption was associated with a 33% higher risk of HCC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.33). High alcohol intake (>350/420 g/week) was associated with approximately fourfold higher HCC risk compared with low intake and more than threefold higher risk compared with low-to-moderate intake. Similar associations were observed in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic CHB patients and across subgroups defined by age, HBeAg status, HBV DNA level, aMAP score, and mPAGE-B score. These findings highlight the importance of systematically assessing and reducing alcohol consumption as part of HCC risk management in people with CHB. Source: https://www.cghjournal.org/