Liver stiffness at baseline as a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis: A matched analysis

Table 1 Baseline characteristic of patients, n (%)/mean ± SD/median (interquartile range)

Characteristics	CLD with HCC, n = 133	CLD without HCC, n = 129	P value
Age (years)	51 ± 11	52 ± 9	0.19
Sex (male:female)	96:37	92:37	0.99
Duration of cirrhosis (years)	5.2 ± 3.6	5.8 ± 3.2	0.15
Etiology
Alcohol	42 (31.6)	39 (30.2)	0.81
MASLD	41 (30.8)	37 (28.7)	0.72
MetALD	19 (14.3)	19 (14.7)	0.93
HBV	7 (5.3)	9 (7.0)	0.56
HCV	18 (13.5)	23 (17.8)	0.34
Others	6 (4.5)	2 (1.6)	0.16
Severity
CP-A	77 (57.9)	69 (53.5)	0.77
CP-B	31 (23.3)	36 (27.9)
CP-C	25 (18.8)	24 (18.6)
History of decompensation during disease course
Ascites	27 (20.3)	29 (22.5)	0.78
Jaundice	29 (21.8)	33 (25.6)	0.57
Variceal bleed	33 (24.8)	29 (22.5)	0.77
Esophageal	21 (15.8)	19 (14.7)	0.80
Gastric	12 (9.0)	8 (6.2)	0.39
Ectopic	0	2 (1.6)	0.242
Hepatic encephalopathy	19 (14.3)	29 (22.6)	0.12
Presentation at diagnosis of cirrhosis
Jaundice	24 (18.0)	27 (20.9)	0.56
Bleed	33 (24.8)	24 (18.6)	0.24
Hepatic encephalopathy	4 (3.0)	7 (5.4)	0.502
Incidental	56 (42.1)	49 (38.0)	0.51
Lab parameters
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	11.4 ± 2.2	11.3 ± 1.4	0.66
Platelet count (103/µL)	116.9 ± 56.1	112.2 ± 52.5	0.23
Bilirubin (mg/dL)1	1.27 (0.9-2.6)	2.4 (1.0-3.8)	0.06
Albumin (g/dL)	3.8 ± 0.6	3.7 ± 0.6	0.18
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.8 ± 0.4	0.9 ± 0.3	0.12
INR	1.9 ± 0.3	1.8 ± 0.4	0.23
Alanine transaminase (IU/L)	69.6 ± 34.9	53.7 ± 19.3	0.06
Aspartate transaminase (IU/L)	60.1 ± 29.1	46.9 ± 29.1	0.01

¹Bilirubin compared using Mann-Whitney U test. Categorical variables compared using χ² test.

²Fisher’s exact test used where expected cell counts < 5.

Decompensation variables reflect prior or cumulative events and do not represent status at the time of LSM. CLD: Chronic liver disease; CP: Child-Pugh; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; INR: International normalized ratio; MASLD: Metabolic associated steatotic liver diseases; MetALD: Metabolic dysfunction and alcohol-associated liver disease; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.