Relation of hypoalbuminemia with tumor parameters in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of hypoalbuminemia in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its relation with tumor parameters. Study Design: Descriptive, Cross-sectional Study. Setting: Department of Medicine, Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Period: March 11^th, 2025, to September 10^th, 2025. Methods: A total of 118 cases of HCC of either gender were enrolled in the study. After informed consent and patient characteristics, all the patients underwent laboratory testing for serum albumin and tumor markers, and an ultrasound for the number of liver nodules and the size of the largest nodule. After descriptive statistics and prevalence of hypoalbuminemia, the relation of hypoalbuminemia with multifocality, tumor size groups, and serum alpha-fetoprotein groups was assessed through the chi-square test, and a p-value ≤0.05 was taken as significant. Results: The mean age was 56.58 ± 10.68 years. The mean duration of liver cirrhosis was 8.25±4.3 years. The average number of liver nodules was 2.94±1.44. Regarding the size of liver nodules, the mean size was 7.18±2.96 (cm). The mean serum AFP was 422.36±443.34 (ng/ml). The serum mean albumin was 3.26±0.72 (g/dl). The prevalence of hypoalbuminemia was present in 58.5% (n=69) of patients presenting with HCC. No statistically significant association was found between hypoalbuminemia and multifocality (p = 0.426), tumor size group (p = 0.716), or serum alpha-fetoprotein levels (p = 0.405), indicating that hypoalbuminemia was not significantly related to these tumor parameters in the study population. Conclusion: Hypoalbuminemia was frequent among patients with HCC in our setting. However, it showed no significant association with tumor multifocality, size, or AFP levels.