Glycemic load in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma among patients with chroni

[Guest guest]

Ann Oncol. 2009 Jun 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Glycemic load in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma among patients with

chronic hepatitis infection.

Lagiou P, Rossi M, Tzonou A, Georgila C, Trichopoulos D, La Vecchia C.

Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Athens

Medical School, Athens, Greece.

BACKGROUND: Chronic infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C

virus (HCV) are of paramount etiologic importance for hepatocellular carcinoma

(HCC), but other factors are likely to be important. The association of diabetes

mellitus and obesity with HCC raises the possibility that dietary glycemic load

(GL) may interact with chronic hepatitis infection in the causation of HCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a case-control study of 333 HCC patients and

360 controls in Athens, Greece. Third-generation assays were used to determine

chronic HBV and HCV infection and information from a semiquantitative food

frequency questionnaire to estimate dietary GL. RESULTS: After adjustment for

possible confounding factors through multiple logistic regression, we found a

nonsignificant positive association between GL and HCC, which was exclusively

accounted for by a positive association between GL and HCC cases with chronic

infection with hepatitis B and/or C. For the latter group of patients, the odds

ratio at the highest compared with the lowest GL quintile was 1.95 (95%

confidence interval 1.09-3.48). The association was strengthened after exclusion

of subjects with diabetes. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that, among patients

with chronic infection with HBV and/or HCV, reduction of dietary GL could reduce

risk or delay development of HCC.

PMID: 19528361 [