Table 1.
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics.
| Variables | Total (n = 351) |
|---|---|
| Sex (male/female) | 242/109 |
| Age (years) | 70.4 ± 10.3 |
| Etiology (HBV/HCV/HBV + HCV/others) | 43/204/3/101 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.1 ± 3.4 |
| L3 SMI (cm2/m2) | 43.7 ± 8.6 |
| Sarcopenia (yes/no) | 33/318 |
| Child–Pugh score (5/6/7/8/9/10/11) | 179/84/52/20/9/6/1 |
| ALB (g/dL) | 3.6 ± 0.6 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 46.9 ± 44.3 |
| T-Bil (mg/dL) | 1.2 ± 1.0 |
| PLT (×104/μL) | 13.1 ± 7.8 |
| PT (%) | 85.3 ± 16.7 |
| FPG (mg/dL) | 110.6 ± 34.2 |
| HbA1c (%) | 6.0 ± 1.1 |
| AFP (ng/dL) | 11,557 ± 73,374 |
| PIVKA-II (mAU/mL) | 21,056 ± 125,773 |
| Tumor size (cm) | 4.2 ± 3.7 |
| Tumor number (1/≥2) | 193/158 |
| Vp (0/1/2/3/4) | 289/15/15/15/17 |
| Stage (I/II/III/IV) | 79/126/100/46 |
| Curability of initial treatment (yes/no) | 188/163 |
| Oral administration of BCAA (yes/no) | 153/198 |
| Co-existing diseases (yes/no) | |
| Renal disease | 22/329 |
| Heart disease | 45/306 |
| Respiratory disease | 16/335 |
| Neurologic disease | 22/329 |
| Malignant disease (except HCC) | 27/324 |
Values are presented as average ± standard deviation. HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; BMI, body mass index; L3 SMI, third lumbar vertebra skeletal muscle index; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; T-Bil, total bilirubin; PLT, platelet count; PT, prothrombin time; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; PIVKA-II, protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonists-II; Vp, the degree of portal vein invasion; BCAA, branched-chain amino acids; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.