The effect of chronic habitual alcohol intake on the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma: Relation to hepatitis B surface antigen carriage

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Abstract
To study the effects of habitual alcohol intake on the latency period for the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 158 patients with cirrhosis and 79 with HCC were analyzed with respect to age at the time of diagnosis. They were classified into 4 groups based on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum, and the history of intake of more than 1 small bottle of Japanese sake or an equivalent per day for more than 10 yr. The average age of HBsAg-positive male cirrhotics with a drinking habit (n = 10) was 38.8 yr, 10.5 yr younger than that of those without a drinking habit (n = 8) (P < 0.05). The average age of HBsAg-negative cirrhotics with a drinking habit (n = 97) was 47.9 yr, 8 yr younger than that of those not drinking (n = 36) (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the laboratory data between these groups. The average age of the HBsAg-positive HCC patients with a drinking habit (n = 20) was 48.9 yr, 9 yr younger than that of those without a drinking habit (n = 12) (P < 0.05). The average age of HBsAg-negative male HCC cases with habitual intake of more than 126 ml ethanol/day was 51.0 yr (n = 8), 10 yr younger than that of nondrinking male HCC cases (n =11) (P < 0.05). Habitual alcohol intake may promote the development of liver cirrhosis and HCC, especially in HBsAg carriers.