Table 2.
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups.
| Variables | Sarcopenia (n = 33) | Non-Sarcopenia (n = 318) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (male/female) | 30/3 | 212/106 | 0.003 |
| Age (years) | 72.6 ± 1.8 | 70.2 ± 0.6 | 0.197 |
| Etiology (HBV/HCV/HBV + HCV/other) | 3/22/0/8 | 40/182/3/93 | 0.868 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 20.8 ± 0.6 | 23.3 ± 0.2 | <0.0001 |
| L3 SMI (cm2/m2) | 30.8 ± 1.3 | 45.1 ± 0.4 | <0.0001 |
| Child–Pugh score (5/6/7/8/9/10/11) | 15/7/5/2/0/3/1 | 164/77/47/18/9/3/0 | 0.039 |
| ALB (g/dL) | 3.5 ± 0.1 | 3.6 ± 0.03 | 0.315 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 52.2 ± 7.7 | 46.4 ± 2.5 | 0.805 |
| T-Bil (mg/dL) | 1.6 ± 0.2 | 1.2 ± 0.06 | 0.045 |
| PLT (×104/μL) | 14.5 ± 1.4 | 13.0 ± 0.4 | 0.276 |
| PT (%) | 89.1 ± 2.9 | 84.9 ± 0.9 | 0.176 |
| FPG (mg/dL) | 113.3 ± 6.0 | 110.3 ± 2.0 | 0.958 |
| HbA1c (%) | 6.2 ± 0.2 | 6.0 ± 0.07 | 0.356 |
| AFP (ng/dL) | 4133 ± 12983 | 12,319 ± 4158 | 0.549 |
| PIVKA-II (mAU/mL) | 35,910 ± 21,910 | 19,475 ± 7149 | 0.476 |
| Tumor size (cm) | 5.6 ± 0.6 | 4.0 ± 0.2 | 0.020 |
| Tumor number (1/≥2) | 20/13 | 173/145 | 0.505 |
| Vp (0/1/2/3/4) | 24/1/2/2/4 | 265/14/13/13/13 | 0.040 |
| Stage (I/II/III/IV) | 8/7/12/6 | 71/117/88/42 | 0.303 |
| Curability of initial treatment (yes/no) | 12/21 | 176/142 | 0.039 |
| Oral administration of BCAA (yes/no) | 17/16 | 136/182 | 0.361 |
| Co-existing diseases (yes/no) | |||
| Renal disease | 2/31 | 20/298 | 1.000 |
| Heart disease | 5/28 | 40/278 | 0.593 |
| Respiratory disease | 0/33 | 16/302 | 0.381 |
| Neurologic disease | 6/27 | 16/302 | 0.011 |
| Malignant disease (except HCC) | 0/33 | 27/291 | 0.093 |
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.