Table 1. Patients' characteristics at the time of HCC diagnosis.
| Parameter | Total (%) | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 401) | (n = 134) | (n = 151) | (n = 116) | |||
| Age, mean±SD, years | 59.4±8.1 | 58.0±8.3 | 59.8±8.1 | 60.4±7.8 | 0.051‡ | |
| Sex, N (%) | Male | 308 (76.8%) | 108 (80.6%) | 122 (80.8%) | 87 (75.0%) | 0.150§ |
| BMI mean±SD, m2/kg | 23.5±3.3 | 23.1±3.1 | 23.5±3.4 | 24.1±3.3 | 0.073§ | |
| ECOG*, N (%) | 0 | 158 (39.4%) | 64 (47.8%) | 45 (29.8%) | 49 (42.2%) | 0.881§ |
| 1 | 52 (13.0%) | 22 (16.4%) | 13 (8.6%) | 17 (14.7%) | ||
| ≥2 | 12 (3.0%) | 2 (1.5%) | 4 (2.6%) | 6 (5.2%) | ||
| Missing | 179 (44.6%) | 46 (34.3%) | 89 (58.9%) | 44 (37.9%) | ||
| Diabetes, N (%) | 71 (17.7%) | 21 (15.7%) | 26 (17%) | 24 (21%) | 0.573§ | |
| Hypertension, N (%) | 86 (21.4%) | 29 (21.6%) | 27 (17.9%) | 30 (25.9%) | 0.289§ | |
| Platelet, ×103/mm3 | 115.9±52.7 | 118.2±41.4 | 114.9±62.1 | 114.8±51.4 | 0.837‡ | |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.9±0.5 | 3.9±0.5 | 3.8±0.6 | 4.0±0.5 | 0.023‡ | |
| Total bilirubin, mg/dL | 1.4±2.3 | 1.5±3.3 | 1.3±0.8 | 1.4±2.2 | 0.852‡ | |
| ALP, IU/L | 92.8±45.3 | 97.6±59.6 | 90.1±33.0 | 90.8±39.3 | 0.318‡ | |
| AST, IU/L | 48.2±48.0 | 48.0±35.9 | 48.5±25.3 | 48.1±75.3 | 0.996‡ | |
| ALT, IU/L | 47.4±45.8 | 48.0±37.3 | 47.6±29.3 | 46.6±67.5 | 0.967‡ | |
| PT INR | 1.14±0.16 | 1.14±0.20 | 1.14±0.13 | 1.13±0.16 | 0.749‡ | |
| HBeAg-positive, N (%) | 58 (22.8%) | 17 (25.4%) | 16 (16.0%) | 25 (28.7%) | 0.100‡ | |
| AFP, ng/mL | 326.7±1987.7 | 449.9±1929.5 | 380.8±2647.8 | 115.2±472.2 | 0.381‡ | |
| MELD score, mean±SD | 9±3.5 | 9±3.7 | 9±3.6 | 9±3.3 | 0.676‡ | |
| CTP class, N (%) | A | 352 (87.8%) | 116 (86.6%) | 132 (87.4%) | 104 (89.7%) | 0.761§ |
| B | 45 (11.2%) | 16 (11.9%) | 17 (11.3%) | 12 (10.3%) | ||
| C | 4 (1.0%) | 2 (1.5%) | 2 (1.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | ||
| Liver cirrhosis†, N (%) | 122 (90.0%) | 138 (91.0%) | 101 (91.4%) | 376 (87.1%) | 0.450§ | |
| Year of HCC diagnosis, | 2007 | 57 (14.2%) | 17 (12.7%) | 29 (19.2%) | 11 (9.5%) | 0.035∥ |
| N (%) | 2008 | 54 (13.5%) | 22 (16.4%) | 22 (14.6%) | 10 (8.6%) | |
| 2009 | 63 (15.7%) | 23 (17.2%) | 25 (16.6%) | 15 (12.9%) | ||
| 2010 | 56 (14.0%) | 11 (8.2%) | 34 (22.5%) | 11 (9.5%) | ||
| 2011 | 45 (11.2%) | 13 (9.7%) | 16 (10.6%) | 16 (13.8%) | ||
| 2012 | 126 (31.4%) | 48 (35.8%) | 25 (16.6%) | 53 (45.7%) |
BMI, body mass index; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; AST, aspartate transaminase; ALT, alanine transaminase; PT INR, prothrombin time international normalized ratio; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; MELD, Model for End-stage Liver Disease; CTP, Child-Turcotte-Pugh.
Note. Data are expressed as n (%) or mean±SD.
* The ECOG performance status assesses on a scale ranging from 0 (fully active) to 5 (dead).
† Liver cirrhosis was diagnosed by the presence of histological and radiological evidence.
‡ by One-way ANOVA.
§ by Pearson's Chi-square test.
∥ by Linear-by-linear association test.