Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Characteristics | Healthy controls (n = 1012) | HBV natural clearance subjects (n = 302) | HBV-infected subjects without HCC | HBV-infected subjects with HCC (n = 1021) | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASCs (n = 316) | CHB (n = 316) | LC (n = 358) | |||||
| Male, n (%) | 763 (75.40) | 169 (55.96) | 186 (58.86) | 230 (72.78) | 264 (73.74) | 864 (84.13) | <0.001*,†,‡, 0.001§ |
| Age, years (mean ± SD) | 59.56 ± 15.10 | 58.40 ± 11.72 | 45.08 ± 10.61 | 44.18 ± 14.51 | 50.68 ± 11.34 | 52.92 ± 11.17 | <0.001*,†,§,‡ |
| HBV genotype, n (%) | |||||||
| B | ND | ND | 97 (34.28) | 52 (25.00) | 56 (22.86) | 107 (16.39) | <0.001† |
| C | ND | ND | 186 (65.72) | 156 (75.00) | 189 (77.14) | 546 (83.61) | |
| HBeAg, n (%) | |||||||
| Positive | ND | ND | 130 (41.14) | 132 (45.36) | 107 (35.55) | 241 (25.08) | <0.001† |
| Negative | ND | ND | 186 (58.86) | 159 (54.64) | 194 (64.45) | 720 (74.92) | |
| HBV DNA (log10 copies/ml) | ND | ND | 3.88 ± 1.80 | 4.43 ± 1.67 | 4.13 ± 1.37 | 3.83 ± 1.18 | <0.001† |
| ALT (log10 U/L) | ND | ND | 1.36 ± 0.21 | 1.97 ± 0.54 | 1.75 ± 0.44 | 1.66 ± 0.35 | <0.001† |
*HBV-infected subjects with HCC versus healthy controls; †HBV-infected subjects with HCC versus HBV-infected subjects without HCC; ‡All HBV-infected subjects including HCC versus HBV natural clearances; §HBV-infected subjects without HCC versus healthy controls. For multiple comparisons, P value was corrected by the Bonferroni correction (P = 0.010). ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ASC: Asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen carrier; CHB: Chronic hepatitis B; HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; LC: Liver cirrhosis; ND: No data; SD: Standard deviation.