Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is proved to be related to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and it is also not rare in individuals without diabetes. The present study attempts to identify the metabolic risk factors of NAFLD among those individuals. Results ALT and HbA1c levels were independently associated with NAFLD development in individuals without diabetes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified the optimal cutoff point of ALT (> 19 IU/ml) with AUC = 0.731, 95% CI 0.653–0.809. On the other hand, the optimal cutoff point of HbA1c was identified to be > 5.1% with AUC = 0.665, 95% CI 0.581–0.750. Conclusions Early identification of NAFLD among subjects without diabetes is crucial. In this study, ALT and HbA1c cutoff values had been identified, so we suggest that inclusion of both HbA1c and ALT levels may have significant implications for prediction of NAFLD among individuals without diabetes.

Aim of the study: Microwave ablation (MWA) for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a new promising modality. The prognosis after treatment is mainly linked to the recurrence. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of α-fetoprotein (AFP) score and Aurora B kinase (AURKB) in HCC recurrence after MWA. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study where 25 early-stage HCC patients (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer 0/A-B) were treated with MWA. Tumor biopsies were obtained just prior to MWA and assessed for WHO pathological grade and AURKB expression by immunohistochemistry. AFP score was calculated and a cutoff value of 2 classifies patients into high and low risk of recurrence. After achieving complete ablation, patients were followed every 3 months for 1 year by triphasic CT to detect recurrence. Results: Child-Pugh classification has no significant impact on prognosis of HCC after MWA (χ 2 = 1.924, p = 0.165). Serum AFP level and AFP score can effectively predict the response to MWA among HCC patients (χ 2 = 6.451, MC p = 0.031) (χ 2 = 9.0, p = 0.003), respectively. AFP score was strongly associated with the pathological grade of the tumor (r = 0.467, p = 0.019). AURKB was over-expressed in tumoral more than non-tumoral specimens (p < 0.001). It was correlated with the size of the tumor, the number of tumor nodules and the pathological grade of the tumor (p < 0.05) but has no role in predicting recurrence after MWA (p = 0.869). Conclusions: AFP score but not AURKB can predict the risk of recurrence of HCC after MWA.