Baseline and longitudinal biomarkers predict hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C: A cohort study

Table 2 Cox regression analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma in relation to baseline characteristic and biomarkers

Variable	Univariate		Multivariate
	HR (95%CI)	P value	aHR (95%CI)	P value
Demographics
Sex (male)	1.51 (0.97-2.33)	0.067	1.74 (1.05-2.86)	0.03
Age (per 1-year increase)	1.03 (1.00-1.05)	0.033	1.01 (0.98-1.04)	0.559
Biomarkers
HCV RNA > 6 × 106 (IU/mL)	0.78 (0.28-2.16)	0.634	-	-
AFP ≥ 20 (ng/mL)	3.31 (1.85-5.92)	< 0.001	2.79 (1.50-5.19)	0.001
Cr ≥ 1 (mg/dL)	1.49 (0.87-2.55)	0.142	-	-
T-Bil ≥ 1 (mg/dL)	3.37 (1.85-6.15)	< 0.001	2.06 (0.89-4.75)	0.091
PT ≥ 12 (second)	1.22 (0.56-2.67)	0.621	1.36 (0.48-3.83)	0.564
Alb < 3.5 (g/dL)	1.77 (0.80-3.95)	0.16	1.22 (0.38-3.96)	0.739
Disease severity
FIB-4 score
1.45-3.25	Reference
< 1.45	0.12 (0.02-0.89)	0.039	Not estimable1
> 3.25	3.13 (1.84-5.31)	< 0.001	2.72 (1.51-4.90)	< 0.001
Comorbidities
Diabetes Mellitus	1.53 (0.98-2.39)	0.061	1.43 (0.84-2.43)	0.184
Hypertension	0.90 (0.58-1.40)	0.646	0.62 (0.37-1.06)	0.079
Dyslipidemia	0.77 (0.37-1.59)	0.475	0.71 (0.27-1.87)	0.493

¹Not estimable due to zero events (complete separation) in the fibrosis-4 < 1.45 group.

HR: Hazard ratio; aHR: Adjusted hazard ratio; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; FIB-4: Fibrosis-4; Cr: Creatinine; T-Bil: Total bilirubin; PT: Prothrombin time; Alb: Albumin.