Table 1.
Selected baseline characteristics of incident liver cancer cases and their matched controls within the EPIC nested case-control study.
| Baseline characteristics | Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) | Biliary tract cancer (GBTC) | Intrahepatic bile duct cancer (IHBC) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases (n=121) | Matched controls (n=121) | p-value | Cases (n=100) | Matched controls (n=100) | p-value | Cases (n=40) | Matched controls (n=40) | p-value | |
| Women, N (%) | 39 (32.2) | 39 (32.2) | - | 62 (62.0) | 62 (62.0) | - | 17 (42.5) | 17 (42.5) | - |
| Age at recruitment (y), mean (SD) | 60.1 (7.4) | 60.1 (7.4) | - | 58.4 (7.9) | 58.4 (7.9) | - | 61.3 (7.6) | 61.3 (7.6) | - |
| Years between blood collection and diagnosis, mean (SD) | 6.0 (3.5) | - | 5.5 (3.5) | - | 5.9 (3.5) | - | |||
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 28.2 (4.4) | 27.4 (4.3) | 0.093 | 27.0 (4.2) | 26.9 (4.0) | 0.382 | 27.8 (4.3) | 27.4 (4.1) | 0.370 |
| Waist circumference (cm), mean (SD) | 97.1 (13.9) | 93.1 (12.0) | 0.009 | 89.5 (14.2) | 88.8 (12.0) | 0.362 | 92.9 (12.8) | 91.7 (10.3) | 0.328 |
| No. with diabetes, N (%) a | 18 (14.9) | 9 (7.4) | 0.185 | 9 (9.0) | 9 (9.0) | 1.000 | 2 (5.0) | 2 (5.0) | 1.000 |
| No. with hypertension N (%) | 49 (40.5) | 34 (28.1) | 0.126 | 34 (34.0) | 26 (26.0) | 0.222 | 15 (37.5) | 9 (22.5) | 0.341 |
| Smoking status, N (%) | 0.021 | 0.385 | 0.592 | ||||||
| Never smoker | 38 (31.4) | 57 (47.1) | 53 (53.0) | 46 (46.0) | 18 (45.0) | 20 (50.0) | |||
| Former smoker | 38 (31.4) | 39 (32.2) | 22 (22.0) | 32 (32.0) | 12 (30.0) | 8 (20.0) | |||
| Current smoker | 44 (36.4) | 24 (19.8) | 24 (24.0) | 20 (20.0) | 9 (22.5) | 9 (22.5) | |||
| Alcohol lifetime pattern of intake, N (%) b | 0.001 | 0.373 | 0.138 | ||||||
| Never drinkers | 9 (7.4) | 13 (10.7) | 7 (7.0) | 9 (9.0) | 3 (7.5) | 4 (10.0) | |||
| Former drinkers | 21 (17.4) | 4 (3.3) | 10 (10.0) | 5 (5.0) | 6 (15.0) | 1 (2.5) | |||
| Drinkers only at recruitment/always drinkers | 91 (75.2) | 104 (86.0) | 83 (83.0) | 86 (86.0) | 31 (77.5) | 35 (87.5) | |||
| Physical activity (METS), mean (SD) | 83.6 (54.6) | 86.5 (50.1) | 0.337 | 90.2 (55.1) | 91.9 (51.0) | 0.407 | 74.5 (33.4) | 80.5 (40.7) | 0.238 |
| Education, N (%) | 0.749 | 0.954 | 0.983 | ||||||
| None / primary | 63 (52.1) | 60 (49.6) | 49 (49.0) | 46 (46.0) | 20 (50.0) | 18 (45.0) | |||
| Technical / professional | 32 (26.5) | 27 (22.3) | 20 (20.0) | 23 (23.0) | 9 (22.5) | 9 (22.5) | |||
| Secondary | 6 (5.0) | 10 (8.3) | 14 (14.0) | 13 (13.0) | 3 (7.5) | 4 (10.0) | |||
| University or higher | 18 (14.9) | 21 (17.4) | 16 (16.0) | 16 (16.0) | 5 (12.5) | 5 (12.5) | |||
| Liver function score, N (%) c | <0.001 | 0.542 | 0.130 | ||||||
| 0 | 25 (20.7) | 69 (57.0) | 68 (68.0) | 62 (62.0) | 17 (42.5) | 24 (60.0) | |||
| ≥1 | 57 (47.1) | 14 (11.6) | 11 (11.0) | 16 (16.0) | 12 (30.0) | 5 (12.5) | |||
| Missing | 39 (32.2) | 38 (31.4) | 21 (21.0) | 22 (22.0) | 11 (27.5) | 11 (27.5) | |||
| Hepatitis status, N (%) | |||||||||
| Hepatitis B virus (HBV) positive | 16 (13.2) | 4 (3.3) | 0.004 | 2 (2.0) | 6 (6.0) | 0.142 | 2 (5.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.150 |
| Hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive | 17 (14.0) | 3 (2.5) | 0.001 | 2 (2.0) | 1 (1.0) | 0.567 | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.5) | 0.313 |
| HBV or HCV positive | 31 (25.6) | 6 (5.0) | <0.001 | 4 (4.0) | 7 (7.0) | 0.337 | 2 (5.0) | 1 (2.5) | 0.554 |
| Baseline dietary intakes (g/d), mean (SD) | |||||||||
| Alcohol | 21.5 (35.5) | 15.5 (19.7) | 0.050 | 11.0 (15.5) | 12.2 (15.8) | 0.289 | 13.7 (20.9) | 13.8 (16.8) | 0.494 |
| Fish and shellfish | 29.6 (26.0) | 35.4 (43.0) | 0.102 | 30.9 (37.5) | 37.1 (35.2) | 0.115 | 33.1 (19.1) | 29.1 (20.8) | 0.190 |
| Fruit and vegetables | 432.0 (284.4) | 497.9 (295.7) | 0.039 | 459.5 (273.8) | 475.3 (247.7) | 0.335 | 426.6 (276.8) | 443.4 (219.8) | 0.380 |
| Red and processed meat | 104.9 (63.4) | 109.0 (63.7) | 0.306 | 92.1 (48.9) | 101.7 (52.2) | 0.092 | 104.0 (60.3) | 113.8 (54.3) | 0.225 |
| Baseline serum biomarkers, geometric mean (5th, 95th percentile) | |||||||||
| Selenium, µg/L d | 71.3 (41.3, 105.9) | 85.2 (55.3, 117.5) | <0.001 | 82.1 (59.7, 108.7) | 85.9 (62.4, 121.0) | 0.041 | 82.3 (62.9, 135, 8) | 87.5 (58.2, 118.7) | 0.115 |
| Selenoprotein P, mg/L | 4.3 (2.0, 7.0) | 5.4 (2.9, 7.9) | <0.001 | 5.1 (3.0, 7.8) | 5.3 (3.2, 7.4) | 0.271 | 5.1 (3.3, 7.8) | 5.5 (3.4, 8.9) | 0.096 |
EPIC, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition; BMI, body mass index; SD, standard deviation;
p-values from t-tests (continuous variables) or chi-square test (categorical variables). Missing values were not excluded from percentage calculations, thus the sum of percents across sub-groups may not add up to 100%.
Self-reported data.
No information on past alcohol consumption was available for the following EPIC centers: Naples, Bilthoven, Umeå, Malmö, and Norway.
Ranges from 0 to 6; the score was grouped in categories as 0, ≥1 abnormal liver function tests (ALT>55 U/L, AST>34 U/L, GGT men >64 U/L, GGT women > 36 U/L, AP > 150 U/L, albumin < 35 g/L, total bilirubin > 20.5 μmol/L; based on the values provided by the laboratory).
Available for 106 HCC, 96 GBTC, and 36 IHBC cases and their matched controls.