Table 1.
Demographics of liver transplant recipients per intensity of des-γ-carboxy prothrombin labelling of hepatocellular carcinoma a.
| Whole Population (n = 39) | Negative Labelling (n = 13) | Focally Positive Labelling (n = 7) | Diffusely Positive Labelling (n = 19) | p b | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medians (IQR) or n (%) | |||||
| Age (years) | 67 (63–71) | 67 (62–72) | 67 (54–71) | 68 (65–72) | 0.725 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.9 (24.8–31.2) | 29.7 (25.2–31.4) | 30.2 (26.9–31.2) | 27.6 (24.0–30.0) | 0.387 |
| Gender (male) | 32 (82.1) | 9 (69.2) | 6 (85.7) | 17 (89.5) | 0.329 |
| Underlying liver disease | |||||
| HBV | 6 (15.4) | 4 (30.8) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (10.5) | 0.137 |
| Sustained viral response | 5/6 (83.3) | 4/4 (75.0) | 0/0 (0.0) | 2/2 (100.0) | 0.439 |
| HCV | 10 (25.6) | 4 (30.8) | 3 (42.9) | 3 (15.8) | 0.327 |
| Sustained viral response | 8/10 (80.0) | 4/4 (100.0) | 2/3 (66.7) | 2/3 (66.7) | 0.435 |
| Alcohol-related disease | 23 (59.0) | 6 (46.2) | 5 (71.4) | 12 (63.2) | 0.480 |
| Haemochromatosis | 2 (5.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (10.5) | 0.330 |
| NASH | 5 (12.8) | 1 (7.7) | 1 (14.3) | 3 (15.8) | 0.791 |
| SBC | 1 (2.6) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (5.3) | 0.583 |
| Cryptogenic | 1 (2.6) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (5.3) | 0.583 |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (38.5) | 6 (46.2) | 3 (42.9) | 6 (31.6) | 0.683 |
| Chronic pancreatitis | 2 (5.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (10.5) | 0.330 |
| Liver disease severity | |||||
| CTP score | 6 (5–7) | 5 (5–7) | 5 (5–8) | 6 (5–8) | 0.230 |
| MELD score | 10 (8–14) | 9 (8–12) | 9 (7–17) | 11 (10–15) | 0.195 |
| Oncologic variables | |||||
| Satellitosis | 1 (2.6) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (5.3) | 0.583 |
| Previous LRT | 34 (87.2) | 13 (100.0) | 6 (85.7) | 15 (78.9) | 0.215 |
| Number of LRTs | 2 (1–4) | 3 (2–4) | 2 (1–4) | 2 (1–3) | 0.291 |
| Resection | 4 (10.3) | 2 (15.4) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (10.5) | 0.556 |
| TACE | 28 (71.8) | 11 (84.6) | 5 (71.4) | 12 (63.2) | 0.416 |
| RFA | 7 (17.9) | 3 (23.1) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (21.1) | 0.389 |
| PEI | 4 (10.3) | 1 (7.7) | 1 (14.3) | 2 (10.5) | 0.897 |
| TAE | 2 (5.1) | 1 (7.7) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (5.3) | 0.758 |
| External RT | 3 (7.7) | 3 (23.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.039 |
| SIRT | 2 (5.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (10.5) | 0.330 |
| Last-LRT-to-LT interval (months) | 5 (2–9) | 8 (3–11) | 2 (1–5) | 4 (1–7) | 0.084 |
| Serum AFP at diagnosis (ng/mL) | 8.4 (4.2–40.2) | 4.2 (3.2–72.5) | 50 (5.8–288.8) | 8.7 (6.1–14.3) | 0.235 |
| Serum DCP at diagnosis (mAU/mL) | 169.0 (48.4–296.0) | 47.5 (29.6–189.4) | 258.0 (102.2–298.4) | 257.3 (94.2–649.1) | 0.005 c |
| Serum AFP at LT (ng/mL) | 6.8 (4.3–15.0) | 5.3 (3.1–7.7) | 8.8 (4.1–13.8) | 8.2 (4.9–16.9) | 0.472 |
| Serum DCP at LT (mAU/mL) | 57.5 (31.3–225.8) | 32.0 (27.5–52.7) | 55.3 (29.7–119.6) | 220.2 (91.2–451.7) | <0.001 d |
| Follow-up (months) | 21 (19–25) | 22 (18–23) | 24 (18–25) | 21 (19–25) | 0.921 |
The values of p that are statistically significant are reported in bold. a Patients are classified according to the most intense labelling; b Kruskal–Wallis tests for quantitative variables and Χ2 tests for nominal variables; c Dunn’s multiple comparisons test for negative labelling vs. diffusely positive labelling p = 0.004; d Dunn’s multiple comparisons test for negative labelling vs. diffusely positive labelling p < 0.001. Abbreviations: AFP, α-foetoprotein; CTP, Child–Turcotte–Pugh score; DCP, des-γ-carboxy prothrombin; IQR, interquartile range; LRT, locoregional treatment; LT, liver transplantation; MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; PEI, percutaneous ethanol injection; RT, radiation therapy; SBC, secondary biliary cirrhosis; SIRT, selective internal radiation therapy; TACE, trans-arterial chemoembolization; TAE, trans-arterial embolization.