Clinical features of symptomatic primary biliary cirrhosis initially complicated with esophageal varices

Esophageal varices (EV), one feature of portal hypertension, have been regarded as a late complication of liver diseases. However, accumulating evidence indicates that EV sometimes develop early during the course of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). The prognosis is usually poorer for patients with symptomatic PBC than for those with asymptomatic PBC. Nevertheless, the clinical features and prognosis of patients with PBC whose initial symptoms are EV have not been clarified.

The clinical features and the prognosis of patients who initially developed EV without other symptoms (v-PBC) were retrospectively investigated in 54 patients with symptomatic PBC.

The leukocyte and platelet counts were lower in patients with v-PBC than in those with PBC accompanied by other symptoms (s-PBC). Liver function tests, autoantibodies, and histological stage did not differ between patients with v-PBC and those with s-PBC. Although the prognosis did not differ, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly higher in v-PBC than in s-PBC (P = 0.0037).

These data indicate that v-PBC is a hypercarcinogenic state and constitutes a new subgroup of PBC.