S2626 Metabolic Disparities Among Hispanic and Native American Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Southwestern US Cohort

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) disproportionately affects minority populations, yet limited data exist on the metabolic and behavioral risk burden among Hispanic and Native American patients in the American Southwest. We assessed demographic, comorbidity, and lifestyle patterns across ethnoracial groups in a diverse HCC cohort treated at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 260 patients with confirmed HCC diagnosed between 2015 and 2023. Of these, 249 with complete race and ethnicity data were included in this analysis. Patients were stratified into 3 groups: Hispanic (n = 98), Native American (n = 32), and non-Hispanic White (n = 119). We compared age, BMI, and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD), hypertension, cirrhosis, smoking, and alcohol use using Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests. Results: Median age and BMI were similar across groups (P = 0.76 and P = 0.73, respectively). Type 2 diabetes was more prevalent among Hispanic (42.9%) and Native American (45.2%) patients compared to non-Hispanic Whites (25.6%, P = 0.002). CAD followed a similar trend, affecting 58.1% of Native American and 50.0% of Hispanic patients versus 33.3% of non-Hispanic Whites (P = 0.011). Smoking prevalence differed significantly (P = 0.025), highest among Hispanic patients (44.5%) and lowest among Native Americans (18.8%). Alcohol use was reported in over half of patients across all groups, highest among Native Americans (68.8%), but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.25). Hypertension prevalence did not differ significantly (P = 0.11). Cirrhosis was observed in 87.1% of Native American, 86.7% of Hispanic, and 89.9% of non-Hispanic White patients (P = 0.14). Conclusion: In this Southwestern cohort, Hispanic and Native American patients with HCC carried a significantly higher burden of metabolic disease and subsequent cardiovascular disease. These disparities underscore the need for targeted prevention, behavioral risk modification, and earlier liver disease screening in underserved populations.