Comparison of metastasis and prognosis between early-onset and late-onset hepatocellular carcinoma: A population-based study.

Background: While hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a highly heterogeneous disease with variable oncogenesis mechanisms and biological features, little is understood about differences in distant metastasis (DM) and prognosis between early-onset and late-onset HCC. This study defined early-onset disease as cancer diagnosed at age younger than 50 years and aimed to present a comprehensive analysis to characterize these disparities based on age.

Methods: Information of HCC patients was retrospectively collected from the SEER database and our hospital. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and survival were compared between the two groups. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was adopted to adjust confounding factors. Logistic and cox analysis were utilized to explore risk factors of DM and prognosis, respectively. Besides, the survival differences were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test.

Results: In total, 19187 HCC patients obtained from the SEER database and 129 HCC patients obtained from our own center were enrolled. Among 19187 patients with HCC, 3376 were identified in the matched cohort, including 1688 early-onset patients and 1688 late-onset patients. Compared with late-onset HCC, early-onset HCC was more likely to occur in female (25.2% vs. 22.9%, P = 0.030), have large tumors (>10.0 cm, 24.1% vs. 14.6%, P = 0.000), harbor poorly differentiated/undifferentiated cancers (17.0% vs. 14.0%, P = 0.003), present advanced clinical stage (T3+T4, 33.7% vs. 28.5%; N1, 9.2% vs. 6.7%; P = 0.000), and develop DM (13.0% vs. 9.5%, P = 0.000). After adjustment for confounders by PSM, we discovered that early-onset HCC remained an independent risk factor for DM. However, combined with Kaplan-Meier curve and cox analysis, early-onset HCC was an independent favorable predictor of survival. We validated these data on an independent cohort from our hospital.

Conclusion: In this population-based study, despite developing DM more frequently, early-onset HCC exhibited a superior prognosis than late-onset HCC. Nevertheless, further research is warranted to understand the underlying aetiologic basis for the disparities.