Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japanese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The possibility has been raised in a number of cohort and case-control studies that diabetes mellitus (DM) may increase the risk of liver cancer, as well as that of cancer at other sites. To verify this possibility, we conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the prevalence of type 2 DM in Japanese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 1,251 patients with HCC, diagnosed at two major liver centers in the Nagasaki area, were consecutively recruited and categorized according to the etiology of HCC into four groups: HCC-B, HCC-C, HCC-BC and HCC-nonBC cases. Type 2 DM was diagnosed on the basis of standard criteria. The prevalence rate of HCC-nonBC and HCC-C was significantly higher than that of HCC-B, while the prevalence rate of HCC-nonBC was significantly higher than that of HCC-C. The prevalence of type 2 DM in HCC-B, HCC-C and HCC-nonBC patients under 66 years of age was 11, 31 and 32%, respectively, vs. 24, 22 and 40%, respectively, in patients over 66 years of age. In patients over 66 years of age, the prevalence of type 2 DM in HCC-B and HCC-nonBC cases was increased, whereas the prevalence of type 2 DM in HCC-C cases was significantly decreased. Our findings indicate that the effects of the interaction between type 2 DM and HCV increase the prevalence of HCC.