The Distribution and Survival Association of Genetic Polymorphisms in Thai Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma According to Underlying Liver Disease

TL;DR

This study found that certain genetic variations are more common in Thai patients with liver cancer linked to metabolic issues versus viral causes, and one variation is linked to better survival.

Contribution

The study identifies distinct SNP distributions and survival associations in HCC patients based on underlying liver disease etiology.

Findings

PNPLA3 GG genotype is more common in MASLD-HCC than in VIRAL-HCC.

HSD17B13 GG genotype is associated with better survival in MASLD-HCC patients.

MASLD-HCC patients have shorter overall survival compared to VIRAL-HCC patients.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The influence of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in terms of etiological factors remains to be explored. This study evaluated the distribution of PNPLA3 rs738409, TM6SF2 rs58542926, and HSD17B13 rs6834314 and overall survival of HCC patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD-HCC) and viral-related HCC (VIRAL-HCC). Methods: This study included 564 patients with HCC: 254 with MASLD-HCC and 310 with VIRAL-HCC. The SNPs were determined by real-time PCR using TaqMan assays. Results: The mean ages of patients with MASLD-HCC and VIRAL-HCC were 68.4 vs. 60.9 years (p < 0.001), with a significant difference between groups. The prevalence of PNPLA3 GG genotype in MASLD-HCC was significantly higher in MASLD-HCC than in VIRAL-HCC (24.0% vs. 15.5%, OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.14–3.05, p = 0.009). Similarly, the prevalence of TM6SF2 TT genotype in MASLD-HCC and VIRAL-HCC was 7.1% vs. 2.6% (OR = 3.39, 95% CI = 1.36–9.21, p = 0.003), while HSD17B13 GG genotype in the corresponding groups was 7.1% vs. 12.6% (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.27–1.01, p = 0.039). The overall median survival of MASLD-HCC was significantly shorter than that of the VIRAL-HCC group (42 vs. 66 months, p = 0.035). In Cox regression hazard analysis, HSD17B13 GG genotype was significantly associated with a lower mortality rate in MASLD-HCC (HR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.18–0.81, p = 0.011). In contrast, PNPLA3 and TM6SF2 were not associated with overall survival in patients with MASLD-HCC or VIRAL-HCC. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that the prevalence of the SNPs significantly differed between MASLD-HCC and VIRAL-HCC. The HSD176B13 GG genotype was also associated with a survival benefit in Thai patients with MASLD-HCC. Thus, assessing the HSD176B13 genotype might be beneficial in risk stratification and potential therapeutic inhibition of HSD17B13 among patients with MASLD-HCC.

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