Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

Byeong Geun Song; Sung Chul Choi; Myung Ji Goh; Wonseok Kang; Dong Hyun Sinn; Geum-Youn Gwak; Yong-Han Paik; Moon Seok Choi; Joon Hyeok Lee; Seung Woon Paik

doi:10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100810

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

JHEP Rep. 2023 Jun 28;5(9):100810. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100810. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
² Center for Health Promotion, Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea.

Abstract

Background & aims: The metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a new inclusive term proposed to replace non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We analysed whether hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk differs by MAFLD or NAFLD status in a large sample of asymptomatic adults.

Methods: A cohort comprising 73,691 adults were followed up for the development of HCC. NAFLD was diagnosed among participants without other liver diseases (n = 65,992).

Results: Participants with MAFLD showed higher incidence of HCC than those without MAFLD (0.37 and 0.24 per 1,000 person-years, respectively; p = 0.006). However, MAFLD was not an independent factor associated with HCC in multivariable adjusted analysis (hazard ratio [HR] 1.21; 95% CI 0.92-1.60). When stratified according to presence of other liver diseases, MAFLD was not associated with HCC in participants with other liver diseases. In participants without other liver diseases, both MAFLD (adjusted HR 1.84; 95% CI 1.09-3.11) and NAFLD (adjusted HR 1.71; 95% CI 1.01-2.90) were independent factors associated with HCC. When stratified according to NAFLD and MAFLD status, there was no HCC development among participants with NAFLD only during 8,936 person-years of follow-up, but this NAFLD-only group comprised 3.4%, and the majority of participants with hepatic steatosis fulfilled both NAFLD and MAFLD criteria.

Conclusions: In patients with other chronic liver diseases, the presence of MAFLD is not independently associated with an increased risk of HCC. For those without other chronic liver diseases, MAFLD largely overlaps with NAFLD and is associated with an increased risk of HCC.

Impact and implications: This study investigated the usefulness of newly proposed nomenclature, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), over non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), in terms of predicting hepatocellular carcinoma. In patients with other chronic liver diseases, the presence of MAFLD is not independently associated with an increased risk of HCC. However, for those without chronic liver disease, MAFLD largely overlaps with NAFLD and is associated with an increased risk of HCC.

Keywords: Chronic liver disease; Fatty liver; Liver cancer; Metabolic syndrome; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.