TABLE 2.
Baseline characteristics of patients
| All (n = 954), n (%) | PES (n = 616), n (%) | No PES (n = 338), n (%) | p (PES vs. no PES), n (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | 67.00 (60.00–74.00) | 68.00 (60.00–75.00) | 66.00 (58.00–74.00) | 0.01a |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 834 (87.4) | 526 (85.3) | 308 (91.7) | 0.01b |
| Female | 120 (12.6) | 90 (14.6) | 30 (8.9) | — |
| Etiology of liver cirrhosis/HCC | ||||
| Alcohol-associated steatohepatitis | 404 (42.3) | 249 (40.4) | 155 (45.9) | 0.08b |
| Chronic HCV infection | 187 (19.6) | 114 (18.5) | 73 (21.6) | — |
| Chronic HBV infection | 88 (9.2) | 60 (9.7) | 28 (8.3) | — |
| NASH | 73 (7.7) | 47 (7.6) | 26 (7.7) | — |
| Other/unknown | 202 (21.1) | 146 (23.7) | 56 (16.6) | — |
| Viral status | ||||
| HBV: viral suppressionc | 60 (68.2) | 41 (68.3) | 19 (5.6) | 0.46b |
| HBV: no viral suppression | 10 (11.4) | 8 (13.3) | 2 (5.9) | — |
| HCV: SVRc | 45 (24.0) | 23 (3.7) | 22 (6.5) | 0.046b |
| HCV: no SVR | 104 (55.6) | 71 (11.5) | 33 (9.8) | — |
| BCLC stage | ||||
| 0 | 29 (3.0) | 17 (2.8) | 12 (3.6) | 0.0003b |
| A | 311 (32.6) | 172 (27.9) | 139 (41.1) | — |
| B | 514 (53.9) | 358 (58.1) | 156 (46.2) | — |
| C | 100 (10.5) | 69 (11.2) | 31 (9.2) | — |
| Tumor characteristics | ||||
| Solitary HCC | 218 (22.9) | 145 (23.6) | 73 (21.6) | 0.49b |
| Multifocal HCC | 736 (77.1) | 471 (76.5) | 265 (78.4) | — |
| No. nodules | 2.00 (1.00–4.00) | 2.00 (1.00–4.00) | 2.00 (1.00–4.00) | 0.16a |
| Max. tumor diameter (cm)d | 4.00 (3.00–06.00) | 4.00 (3.00–6.00) | 3.00 (2.55–5.00) | <0.0001a |
| Macrovascular invasion | 78 (8.2) | 52 (8.4) | 26 (7.7) | 0.23b |
| Extrahepatic metastases | 35 (3.7) | 22 (3.6) | 13 (3.8) | — |
| Tumorous PVT | 83 (8.7) | 54 (8.8) | 20 (5.9) | — |
| Nontumorous PVT | 95 (10.0) | 55 (8.9) | 40 (11.8) | — |
| Stage of liver cirrhosis | ||||
| Unknown | 42 (4.4) | 21 (3.4) | 21 (6.2) | 0.0006b |
| No cirrhosis | 64 (6.7) | 51 (8.3) | 13 (3.8) | — |
| CHILD A | 540 (56.6) | 364 (59.1) | 176 (52.1) | — |
| CHILD B | 308 (32.3) | 180 (29.2) | 128 (37.9) | — |
| CHILD C | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Albumin/bilirubin Score (ALBI) | −2.147 (−2.59 to −1.585) | −2.182 (−2.65 to −1.685) | −2.049 (−2.541 to −1.470) | 0.009a |
| ALBI1 | 198 (20.8) | 138 (22.4) | 59 (17.5) | 0.02a |
| ALBI2 | 309 (32.4) | 301 (48.9) | 156 (46.2) | — |
| ALBI3 | 342 (35.8) | 81 (13.1) | 64 (18.9) | — |
| Performance status | ||||
| Unknown | 21 (2.2) | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | 0.53b |
| ECOG 0 | 191 (20.0) | 132 (21.4) | 59 (17.5) | — |
| ECOG 1 | 569 (59.6) | 360 (58.4) | 209 (61.8) | — |
| ECOG 2 | 173 (18.1) | 122 (19.8) | 69 (20.4) | — |
| Previous therapy | ||||
| None | 782 (81.9) | 503 (81.7) | 272 (80.5) | 0.44b |
| Liver transplantation | 3 (0.3) | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | — |
| Radiofrequency ablation | 31 (3.2) | 17 (2.8) | 14 (4.1) | — |
| Surgical resection | 133 (13.9) | 79 (12.8) | 54 (16.0) | — |
| TACE | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.2) | 0 | — |
| Stereotactic body radiotherapy | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | — |
| Systemic therapy | 25 (2.6) | 19 (3.1) | 6 (1.8) | — |
| Drug delivery method | ||||
| Conventional TACE | 416 (43.6) | 231 (37.5) | 185 (54.7) | 0.0001b |
| DEB-TACE | 538 (56.4) | 385 (62.5) | 153 (45.3) | — |
| Chemotherapeutic agent | ||||
| Mitomycin C | 421 (44.1) | 243 (39.4) | 178 (52.7) | 0.0001b |
| Epi-/doxorubicin | 611 (64.0) | 443 (71.9) | 168 (49.7) | — |
Note: Values are given as n (%) or median (IQR).
a
Mann-Whitney U test.
b
Chi-squared test.
c
Viral suppression defined as HBV titer <20 IU/mL, SVR defined as nondetectable HCV DNA.
d
Refers to the diameter of the largest tumor nodule.
Abbreviations: ALBI, Albumin/bilirubin Score; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; DEB-TACE, drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group;PES, postembolization syndrome; SVR, sustained viral response.