ALB and hepatocellular carcinoma: Univariate analyses identified various factors, including the presence of hepatic encephalopathy, a high Child-Pugh score, a high serum bilirubin level, a high serum AST level, and a low serum albumin level (all of which are associated with poor liver function) as significantly influencing the short-term death rate (within 3 weeks) among the cases with ruptured HCC.