Table I.
Baseline demographical and clinical characteristics of patients.
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Total patients, n | 167 |
| Age, years [median (range)] | 65.6 |
| (23.9–80.6) | |
| Sex, n (%) | |
| Male | 147 (88) |
| Female | 20 (12) |
| Child-Pugh class, n (%) | |
| A | 71 (42.5) |
| B | 17 (10.4) |
| ECOG performance status, n (%) | |
| 0 | 71 (42.5) |
| 1 | 29 (17.4) |
| 2 | 4 (2.4) |
| Aetiology of HCC, n (%) | |
| VHB cirrhosis | 5 (3) |
| VHC cirrhosis | 36 (21.6) |
| VHC cirrhosis and alcohol | 17 (10.2) |
| VHB cirrhosis and alcohol | 4 (2.4) |
| Alcoholic cirrhosis | 67 (40.1) |
| Hepatitis C+HIV | 5 (3) |
| Hemochromatosis | 5 (3) |
| HCV+HBV | 1 (0.6) |
| Other | 27 (16.1) |
| BCLC stage, n (%) | |
| B | 38 (22.8) |
| C | 103 (61.7) |
| Vascular invasion, n (%) | 80 (47.9) |
| Extrahepatic extension | 46 (27.5) |
| Liver transplant | 7 (4.2) |
| Basal AFP level, ng/ml [median (range)] | 76.6 |
| (1.2–233800.0) | |
| Basal AFP >200 ng/ml, n (%) | 49 (29.3) |
| Basal AFP ≤200 ng/ml, n (%) | 118 (70.7) |
| Basal hepatic enzymes, IU/l [median (range)] | |
| Aspartate aminotransferase | 58 (19–344) |
| Alanine aminotransferase | 44.5 (13–274) |
| Basal albumin value, g/l [median (range)] | 39 (25–48) |
| Basal albumin ≤35 g/l, n (%) | 63 (37.7) |
| Basal albumin >35 g/l, n (%) | 104 (62.3) |
| Basal bilirubin value, mg/ml [median (range)] | 1 (0.2–4.4) |
| Basal bilirubin ≤1 mg/ml, n (%) | 80 (47.9) |
| Basal bilirubin >1 mg/ml, n (%) | 87 (52.1) |
| AFP reduction at 6–8 weeks, n (%) | |
| AFP responders (>20%) | 28 (16.8) |
| AFP non-responders (≤20%) | 139 (86.2) |
Certain data were not available for all patients. AFP, α-fetoprotein; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Disease; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus.