Table 1.
Preoperative characteristics of the 50 enrolled HCC patients and univariate survival analysis
| Variables | Study group (50 patients) | Likelihood-ratio χ2 (P value) |
| Median age (yr) | 62 (22-88) | 2.23 (NS) |
| Sex (M/F) | Sep-41 | 1.35 (NS) |
| Performance status (PST) ≥1 | 10 | 4.06 (.0438) |
| Cirrhosis | 43 | 1.12 (NS) |
| Etiology: HCV/HBV/alcohol/other | 29/6/5/10 | |
| Viral | 3 | 1.7 (NS) |
| Portal hypertension | 31 | 0.17 (NS) |
| Child-Pugh score (A/B/C) | 16/24/3 | 2.31 (NS) |
| Analytical data | ||
| Bilirubin (μmol/L) | 20 (7-233) | 0.02 (NS) |
| Serum albumin (g/L) | 35 (21-46) | 0.49 (NS) |
| Prothrombin activity (%) | 77 (39-109) | 0.02 (NS) |
| 1Alkaline phosphatase (U/L) | 113 (42-395) | 1.33 (NS) |
| 1GGT (U/L) | 64 (21-864) | 3.25 (NS) |
| Creatinin (μmol/L) | 83 (63-166) | 1.47 (NS) |
| AST (U/L) | 95 (20-492) | 0.48 (NS) |
| ALT (U/L) | 78 (12-469) | 0.19 (NS) |
| Median AFP level (ng/L) | 17 (4-1 400) | 0.69 (NS) |
| Positive AFP mRNA | 21 | 5.96 (0.0146) |
| TNM T3/T4 | 26 | 2.8 (NS) |
| Bilobar | 7 | 2.38 (NS) |
| Number of nodules (1/2 or 3/>3) | 22/23/5 | |
| Multinodular | 28 | 0.99 (NS) |
| 1Median nodule size (cm) | 4 (1-18) | 2.76 (NS) |
| Nodule >5 cm | 20 | 1.62 (NS) |
| 1Gross vascular invasion | 12 | 4.42 (0.0354) |
| 12Histological grade (I/II/III) | 27/16/7 | |
| II-III | 23 | 4.10 (0.0490) |
| Type of treatment | ||
| Resection/LT/loco-regional therapies | 2022-7-21 | |
| Surgery | 29 | 16.40 (0.0001) |
HCV: hepatitis C virus; HBV: hepatitis B virus; AFP: alpha-fetoprotein; TNM: tumor node metastasis classification; LT: liver transplantation.
1
Variables significantly related to the presence of AFP mRNA in blood.
2
I: well; II: moderately; and III: poorly differentiated HCC.