We studied 104 patients diagnosed with
hepatocellular carcinoma on the basis of pathological findings, in order to establish differences between patients with and without
liver cirrhosis in addition to
carcinoma. Among the former we also tried to identify differences between patients with previously diagnosed
cirrhosis and those in whom
cirrhosis was diagnosed at the same time as
carcinoma. No significant differences were observed between patients in whom
cirrhosis was diagnosed before or at the same time as
carcinoma in relation to age, sex, etiologic factors or Child-Pugh grade. Differences were found with regard to motives for suspecting a
tumor, frequency of
splenomegaly, and platelet and leukocyte counts. No significant differences were found between patients with and without
cirrhosis except in some laboratory findings (leukocytes, platelets, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and gammaglutamyl
transpeptidase higher in the latter group, and
alpha-fetoprotein higher in the former). There were no significant differences between cases of
hepatocellular carcinoma that appeared as the first manifestation of
liver cirrhosis and those that were diagnosed in patients with known
cirrhosis. The clinical and biological differences between patients with and without
cirrhosis can be explained by the associated chronic hepatic disease.