Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitor versus Beta-Blocker Use for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk among People with Hepatitis B or C Virus Infection and Diabetes Mellitus

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The authors used a large Taiwanese database of patients with chronic hepatitis B or C in order to study if SGLT2I, as compared to BB, may decrease HCC. In brief, SGLT2I caused a risk reduction in the likelihood of HCC development of about 73%. ABSTRACT: Objective: The current study detects the effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2I) versus beta-blocker (BB) in diabetes mellitus (DM) with chronic hepatitis B or C on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) outcomes. Methods: The multivariate logistic regression model, including all baseline characteristics and index year, was used to calculate the propensity scores, and we performed the greedy algorithm on propensity scores to create matched pairs of SGLT2I and BB users. Hazard ratios (HRs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of HCC were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression models, and we adjusted for confounding factors by including the baseline characteristics in the regression models. Results: After matching in a ratio of 1:1, 7023 SGLT2I users and 7023 BB users were included in the following statistical analyses. The overall HRs showed a significantly lower risk of HCC in SGLT2I users in comparison to a reference group of BB users with an adjusted HR of 0.27 (0.21, 0.34). Conclusions: Compared to BB use, SGLT2I was associated with a significant risk reduction in HCC occurrence.