Table 1. Clinical characteristics of HCC cases and controls at baseline point.
| Discovery stage |
Validation stage |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HCC cases | Matched controls | P value | HCC cases | Matched controls | P value | |
| Num. of patients | 15 | 30 | .. | 36 | 108 | .. |
| Age, years | 48.0(40.0–66.0) | 47.0(39.0–67.0) | 0.994 | 45.5(39.5–52.0) | 46.0(39.0–52.0) | 0.992 |
| Gender, female | 3(20.0%) | 6(20.0%) | .. | 10(27.8%) | 30(27.8%) | .. |
| Labs | ||||||
| TP, g/l | 20.1(15.4–24.5) | 12.6(10.9–17.2) | 0.024 | 8.1(5.5–30.0) | 4.3(2.5–7.0) | 0.001 |
| AST, UI/l | 28.0(20.0–39.0) | 25.0(20.0–32.5) | 0.130 | 30.5(25.0–44.0) | 29.0(22.0–37.0) | 0.585 |
| ALT, UI/l | 37.0(29.0–47.0) | 27.0(17.5–39.0) | 0.182 | 31.0(26.0–39.0) | 25.0(18.0–39.0) | 0.807 |
| ALP, UI/l | 74.0(63.0–91.0) | 71.0(56.0–94.0) | 0.498 | 90.5(71.0–120.0) | 77.0(65.0–92.0) | 0.018 |
| TBIL, μmol/l | 78.4(74.9–80.0) | 77.6(74.2–80.2) | 0.962 | 76.5(70.5–79.7) | 79.3(74.9–82.3) | <0.001 |
| TBA, μmol/l | 4.3(3.3–9.2) | 4.1(2.4–7.3) | 0.895 | 18.9(12.0–25.7) | 13.6(10.5–19.1) | 0.002 |
| HBV DNA (log10 copies/ml) | ||||||
| Undetectable* | 10(67.6%) | 22(73.3%) | .. | 29(80.5%) | 86(79.6%) | .. |
| 2.69–3.99 | 3(20.0%) | 5(16.7%) | .. | 5(13.9%) | 13(12.1%) | .. |
| 4.00–5.99 | 1(6.7%) | 1(3.3%) | .. | 2(5.6%) | 5(4.6%) | .. |
| ≥6.00 | 1(6.7%) | 2(6.7%) | .. | 0(0) | 4(3.7%) | .. |
| HCC markers | ||||||
| AFP, ng/ml | 28.9(4.3–160.5) | 2.9(2.3–5.5) | <0.001 | 10.7(3.6–130.4) | 3.1(2.2–3.6) | <0.001 |
| Log10AFP, ng/ml | 1.5(0.6–2.2) | 0.5(0.4–0.7) | <0.001 | 1.0(0.6–2.1) | 0.5(0.3–0.6) | <0.001 |
| PIVKA–II, mAU/ml | 31.0(22.0–253.0) | 20.0(18.0–25.0) | 0.010 | 34.0(19.0–437.5) | 21.0(18.0–26.0) | 0.033 |
| Log10PIVKA-II, mAU/ml | 1.5(1.3–2.4) | 1.3(1.2–1.4) | 0.001 | 1.5(1.3–2.6) | 1.3(1.3–1.4) | <0.001 |
| Cirrhosis | 10(67.7%) | 20(67.7%) | .. | 27(75.0%) | 81(75.0%) | .. |
| BCLC stage | ||||||
| 0+A | 11(73.3%) | .. | .. | 18(50.0%) | .. | |
| B | 3(20.0%) | .. | .. | 14(38.9%) | .. | |
| C+D | 1(6.7%) | .. | .. | 4(11.1%) | .. | |
Data are presented as n (%), or median with IQR (the 25th and the 75th percentiles).
HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; TP: total protein; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; ALP: alkaline phosphatase; TBIL: total bilirubin; TBA: total bile acid; HBV: hepatitis B virus; BCLC: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer.
*Copies under 500 are clinically undetectable.