Brief Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2012; 18(21): 2654-2660
Published online Jun 7, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i21.2654
Table 1 Baseline characteristics of high-risk patients who had sub-centimeter-sized nodules (n = 142)
Baseline characteristicsNumber of patients
Age (yr)50.2 ± 9.4
Male84 (59.2)
Etiology of liver disease
Hepatitis B infection126 (88.7)
Hepatitis C infection9 (6.3)
Alcohol liver cirrhosis7 (5.0)
Liver cirrhosis111 (78.2)
Child-Pugh A98 (88.3)
Child-Pugh B10 (9.0)
Child-Pugh C3 (2.7)
AST (UI/L)47.9 ± 26.8
ALT (UI/L)53.2 ± 42.5
PT (INR)1.19 ± 0.17
Bilirubin (mg/dL)1.24 ± 0.97
Platelets (109/L)125.3 ± 60.3
Albumin (g/dL)3.77 ± 0.56
Baseline AFP (ng/mL, range)5.7 (1.0-211.6)
Number of nodules
One26 (18.3)
Two7 (5.0)
Three3 (2.1)
Four1 (0.7)
Over four105 (73.9)
Nodule pattern
Hypoechoic/low-attenuation77 (54.3)
Hyperechoic/high-attenuation31 (21.8)
Mixed34 (23.9)
Initial radiologic diagnosis
RN/DN119 (83.8)
Hemangioma17 (12.0)
Indeterminate nodule5 (3.5)
Arterioportal shunt1 (0.7)
Table 2 Risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma from sub-centimeter-sized nodules
VariablesDiagnosis
P value
HCC (n = 33)Non-HCC (n = 109)
Age (yr)54.4 ± 8.348.9 ± 9.40.003
Male24 (72.4)60 (55.0)0.070
Etiology of liver disease0.364
Hepatitis B infection27 (81.8)99 (90.8)
Hepatitis C infection3 (9.1)6 (5.5)
Alcoholic liver cirrhosis3 (9.1)4 (3.7)
Liver cirrhosis29 (87.9)82 (75.2)0.123
AST (UI/L)49.3 ± 20.447.5 ± 28.50.736
ALT (UI/L)50.9 ± 36.553.9 ± 44.30.722
PT (INR)1.23 ± 0.171.18 ± 0.170.088
Bilirubin (mg/dL)1.27 ± 0.781.23 ± 1.020.831
Platelets (109/L)110.1 ± 53.9129.9 ± 61.60.099
Albumin (g/dL)3.56 ± 0.583.84 ± 0.550.012
Number of nodules0.390
One4 (12.1)22 (20.0)
Two1 (3.0)6 (5.5)
Three0 (0.0)3 (2.8)
Four0 (0.0)1 (0.9)
Over four28 (84.8)77 (70.6)
Nodule pattern0.011
Hypoechoic/low-attenuation23 (69.7)54 (49.5)
Hyperechoic/high-attenuation1 (3.0)30 (27.5)
Mixed9 (27.3)25 (22.9)
Initial radiologic diagnosis0.036
RN/DN31 (93.9)88 (80.7)
Hemangioma0 (0.0)17 (15.6)
Indeterminate nodule2 (6.1)3 (2.8)
Arterioportal shunt0 (0.0)1 (0.9)
Baseline AFP (ng/mL, range)8.5 (3.2-211.6)5.4 (1.0-55.9)0.035
Table 3 Multivariate analysis of risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma from sub-centimeter-sized hepatic nodules
VariablesP valueOR95% CI
Age (yr)0.0121.0751.016-1.137
Male0.0093.9691.403-11.226
PT (INR)0.8770.6980.007-66.718
Platelets (109/L)0.9170.9990.990-1.009
Albumin (g/dL)0.4780.6240.169-2.298
Nodule pattern0.081
Nodule pattern (1)11.0000.8120.233-2.827
Nodule pattern (2)20.0540.0750.006-1.026
Baseline AFP (ng/mL)0.0241.0391.005-1.073