Liveborn children and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

Clinical, animal, and epidemiologic evidence indicates that exogenous steroids influence the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and a recent study suggested that parity also may increase the risk of this tumor in women. The latter hypothesis was evaluated in the data from a case-control study which was carried out in Athens and covered 166 male and 19 female cases of HCC, and 381 male and 51 female hospital controls. Among males, there was no association between the number of liveborn children and risk of HCC, whereas among women, there was a suggestive positive association. Compared with women with one or two children, the relative risk for HCC was 0.6 among nulliparous women, 1.3 among those with three or four children and 1.7 among those with five or more children. The association of parity with risk of HCC was limited to women who were positive for hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) and was not confounded by hepatitis-C virus infection or tobacco smoking. The small number of HCC cases does not permit firm conclusions. If confirmed, however, these results would provide the foundation for a practical preventive advice that could be given to women who are positive for HBsAg.