Table 1.
Characteristics of study groups underwent transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation
| Characteristics |
TACE |
RFA |
||||
| Control group | BCAA group | P value | Control group | BCAA group | P value | |
| n = 86 | n = 76 | n = 68 | n = 40 | |||
| Male/female | 57/29 | 46/30 | 0.746 | 47/21 | 13/27 | < 0.001 |
| Age (yr) | 72.2 ± 8.6 | 71.7 ± 7.2 | 0.055 | 71.9 ± 6.5 | 73.0 ± 6.0 | 0.386 |
| Cause of hepatic cirrhosis | 13/49/24 | 9/64/3 | 0.025 | 7/47/14 | 0/34/6 | 0.068 |
| (B/C/non B non C) | ||||||
| Child-Pugh (A/B/C) | 11/1/1974 | 35/36/5 | < 0.001 | 59/9/0 | 23/16/1 | < 0.001 |
| Child-Pugh score | 5.6 ± 0.9 | 6.8 ± 1.4 | < 0.001 | 5.7 ± 0.9 | 6.6 ± 1.1 | 0.001 |
| HCC clinical stage | 21/49/11/5/0 | 13/14/21/27/1 | < 0.001 | 21/40/6/0/1 | 16/16/7/1/0 | 0.276 |
| (I/II/III/IVa/IVb) | ||||||
| Alb (g/dL) | 3.8 ± 0.5 | 3.3 ± 0.4 | < 0.001 | 3.6 ± 0.4 | 3.2 ± 0.4 | < 0.001 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 1.0 ± 0.3 | 0.3 ± 0.5 | < 0.001 | 1.0 ± 0.3 | 0.3 ± 0.5 | 0.010 |
| Body temperature (°C) | 36.2 ± 0.4 | 36.4 ± 0.5 | 0.006 | 36.3 ± 0.5 | 36.4 ± 0.4 | 0.006 |
| PT | 95% ± 10% | 86% ± 15% | < 0.001 | 94% ± 10% | 87% ± 14% | 0.008 |
| T-Bil (mg/dL) | 0.9 ± 0.5 | 1.3 ± 1.1 | 0.007 | 0.8 ± 0.3 | 1.0 ± 0.5 | 0.014 |
| AFP (ng/mL) | 392 ± 70 | 1657 ± 434 | 0.009 | 392 ± 70 | 1657 ± 434 | 0.009 |
| PIVKA-II (mAU/mL) | 334 ± 975 | 385 ± 1180 | 0.819 | 334 ± 975 | 385 ± 1180 | 0.819 |
| Max tumor size (mm) | 29 ± 26 | 29 ± 32 | 0.937 | 21 ± 8 | 20 ± 8 | 0.364 |
Data were assessed using student’s t test. HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Alb: Albumin; CRP: C-reactive protein; PT: Prothrombin time; T-Bil: Total bilirubin; AFP: α-fetoprotein; PIVKA-II: Prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence-II; TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; BCAA: Branched-chain amino acids.