Lee TY, et al. - In this Taiwan nationwide cohort study, researchers examined the association of daily aspirin therapy with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. They found that a reduced risk of HBV-related HCC could be related to daily aspirin therapy.

Methods

• For the period January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2012, a total of 204,507 subjects with chronic hepatitis B were screened.
• After excluding patients with confounding conditions, 2,123 subjects who received daily aspirin for ≥ 90 days (treated group) continuously were randomized 1:4 with 8,492 subjects who had never received antiplatelet therapy (untreated group) via propensity scores, consisting of the follow-up index date, baseline characteristics, and potentially chemopreventive drug use during follow-up.
• From August 1 to November 30, 2018, data were analyzed.
• Exposures included daily aspirin therapy during the study period.
• After adjusting patient mortality as a competing risk event, both cumulative incidence of and hazard ratios (HRs) for HCC development were analyzed.

Results

• Approximately 72% of participants included in the final analysis were men.
• In the treated group, the cumulative incidence of HCC was significantly lower than in the untreated group in 5 years.
• Aspirin therapy was independently related to a reduced HCC risk in the multivariable regression analysis.
• This association was also verified by sensitivity subgroup analyses.
• Moreover, older age, male sex, and cirrhosis were independently linked to an increased HCC risk.
• Nucleos(t)ide analogue or statin use, on the other hand, was associated with reduced risk of HCC.