BACKGROUND: The objective of the present research was to explore the prevalence, risk, and prognostic factors associated with bone metastases (BM) in newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 36 507 HCC patients who were registered in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, we enrolled 1263 with BM at the initial diagnosis of HCC from 2010 to 2014. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to estimate overall survival for different subgroups. Univariate and multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors and independent prognostic factors for BM.

RESULTS: A total of 1567 (4.29%) HCC patients were detected with BM at initial diagnosis. Male sex, unmarried status, higher T stage, lymph node involvement, intrahepatic metastases, and extrahepatic metastases (lung or brain) were positively associated with BM. The median survival of the patients was 3.00 months (95% CI: 2.77–3.24 months). Marital status and primary tumor surgery were independently associated with the better survival.

CONCLUSIONS: A list of factors associated with BM occurrence and the prognosis of the advanced HCC patients with BM were found. These associated factors may provide a reference for BM screening in HCC and guide prophylactic treatment in clinical settings.

Keywords: Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Risk Factors, SEER Program, Biomarkers, Tumor, Bone Neoplasms, Liver Neoplasms, Multivariate Analysis, Prevalence, Regression Analysis