Table 1.
Baseline clinical characteristics of the patients.
| Non-statin group (n = 235) |
Statin group (n = 112) |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at the time of operation (y) | 54.6 ± 7.0 | 56.7 ± 6.0 | 0.008 |
| Sex (Female, %) | 36 (15.3) | 25 (22.3) | 0.109 |
| Liver allograft | 0.090 | ||
| Whole cadaver | 63 (26.8) | 40 (35.7) | |
| Living donor | 172 (70.5) | 72 (64.3) | |
| Underlying liver disease | 0.164 | ||
| Hepatitis B | 198 (84.3) | 86 (76.8) | |
| Hepatitis C | 16 (6.8) | 14 (12.5) | |
| non-viral | 21 (8.9) | 12 (10.7) | |
| Therapies for primary tumor control before operation | 170 (72.3) | 75 (67.0) | 0.304 |
| AFP (pre-op., ng/mL) | 109.1 ± 453.3 | 62.4 ± 272.3 | 0.315 |
| AFP over 50 ng/mL | 51 (21.7) | 17 (15.2) | 0.152 |
| PIVKA-II (pre-op., ng/mL) | 300.2 ± 2214.0 | 112.0 ± 317.1 | 0.372 |
| PIVKA-II over 50 ng/mL | 91 (38.7) | 32 (28.6) | 0.065 |
| [Post transplantation data] | |||
| Number of tumors | 3.3 ± 4.1 | 2.7 ± 2.3 | 0.149 |
| Tumor size (Largest, cm) | 2.7 ± 1.6 | 2.7 ± 1.7 | 0.882 |
| Tumor size (Sum, viable, cm) | 5.6 ± 5.5 | 4.8 ± 4.0 | 0.197 |
| Above Milan criteria | 102 (45.9) | 46 (41.4) | 0.436 |
| Differentiation (Ed’s Grade) | 0.584 | ||
| I | 26 (12.9) | 16 (17.6) | |
| II | 101 (50.2) | 44 (48.4) | |
| III | 72 (35.8) | 31 (34.1) | |
| IV | 2 (1.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Differentiation (Ed’s Grade, well vs poor) | 0.525 | ||
| Well (I & II) | 127 (63.2) | 61 (67.0) | |
| Poor (III & IV) | 74 (36.8) | 30 (33.0) | |
| Microvascular invasion | 61 (26.6) | 19 (17.4) | 0.063 |
| Portal vein invasion or thrombosis | 28 (12.1) | 14 (12.7) | 0.862 |
| Anti-viral therapy after operation | 170 (72.3) | 75 (67.0) | 0.304 |
| Use of tacrolimus | 235 (100.0) | 111 (99.1) | 0.147 |
| Use of sirolimus | 9 (3.8) | 5 (4.5) | 0.779 |
| Use of cyclosporine | 1 (0.4) | 4 (3.6) | 0.022 |
| F/U Duration (months) | 50.6 ± 36.9 | 55.9 ± 37.1 | 0.213 |
| Death (Cancer unrelated) | 20 (8.5) | 9 (8.0) | 0.881 |
Data are expressed as the mean ± SD for continuous variables and number (%) for categorical variables.
Abbreviations: AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; op., operation; PIVKA-II, prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence-II; Ed’s, Edmondson’s; F/U, Follow-up; HCC, Hepatocellular carcinoma.