Table III.
Clinical characteristics of the advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with sorafeniba: Comparative evaluation of the sorafenib-I (administration <60 days) and sorafenib-II (administration ≥60 days) groups.
| Factor | Sorafenib-I (n=11) | Sorafenib-II (n=9) | P-valueb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (range), in years | 69.9 (44–83) | 69.2 (58–78) | 0.57 |
| Gender (male/female) | 0.82/0.18 | 0.89/0.11 | 1.00 |
| Virus marker (HBV/HCV/NBNC) | 0.37/0.45/0.18 | 0.11/0.56/0.33 | 0.60 |
| Excess alcohol intakec (+/−) | 0.27/0.73 | 0.44/0.56 | 0.64 |
| Diabetes mellitus (+/−) | 0.18/0.82 | 0.44/0.56 | 0.34 |
| Body weight (kg) | 53.6 (38.4–68.4) | 58.9 (48.0–68.9) | 0.25 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 21.6 (16.0–28.4) | 22.2 (18.4–24.8) | 0.82 |
| Initial dose of sorafenib (mg/kg/day) | 15.5 (6.9–17.4) | 13.6 (5.8–15.4) | 0.24 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) | 1.2 (0.5–1.8) | 1.0 (0.6–1.9) | 0.21 |
| AST (IU/l) | 93.5 (25–201) | 64.9 (27–116) | 0.32 |
| ALT (IU/l) | 56.4 (17–178) | 51.2 (26–73) | 0.47 |
| Serum albumin (g/dl) | 3.5 (2.8–4.4) | 3.7 (3.0–4.2) | 0.12 |
| White blood cell (×103/μl) | 4.2 (2.5–6.8) | 4.2 (2.6–6.2) | 0.88 |
| Neutrophils (×103/μl) | 2.6 (1.4–5.0) | 2.5 (1.3–4.6) | 0.88 |
| Platelet count (×104/μl) | 15.4 (7.0–26.2) | 12.4 (6.1–19.1) | 0.15 |
| Prothrombin time (%) | 85.1 (72–98) | 90.2 (58–115) | 0.29 |
| α-fetoprotein (×103 ng/ml) | 0.9 (0–5.2) | 12.4 (0–97.3) | 0.62 |
| DCP (×103 mAU/ml) | 17.8 (0–86.8) | 4.2 (0–27.9) | 0.40 |
| Tumor diameter (≥50 mm/<50 mm) | 0.36/0.64 | 0.44/0.56 | 1.00 |
| Tumor thrombus (Vp3 or 4; +/−) | 0.64/0.36 | 0.33/0.67 | 0.37 |
| Distant metastasis (+/−) | 0.27/0.73 | 0.22/0.78 | 1.00 |
| Previous treatment (+/−) | 0.91/0.09 | 0.89/0.11 | 1.00 |
| Locoregional therapyd | 1.9 (0–6) | 1.6 (0–4) | 0.72 |
| TACEe | 3.9 (0–7) | 4.6 (0–8) | 0.40 |
Data are presented as geometric means (range) or proportions.
P-values were obtained by Mann-Whitney U test or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate.
Defined as >75 g of ethanol per day based on data obtained by questionnaire.
Average frequency (number of times) of locoregional therapy including surgery or radiofrequency ablation was evaluated.
Average frequency (number of times) of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) was evaluated. HBV, positive for hepatitis B virus antigen (HBsAg); HCV, positive for anti-hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV Ab); NBNC, negative for both HBsAg and HCV Ab; AST, asparate aminotransferase; ALT, alanin aminotransferase; DCP, des-γ-carboxy prothrombin.