Table 1. Characteristics of Included 549 Patients and Univariable Analysis.
| Factors | Total (n = 549) | Early HCC Recurrence (n = 109) | No Early HCC Recurrence (n = 440) | Odds Ratio (95% CI) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical factors | |||||
| Age (year)* | 55 (26–84) | 55 (31–81) | 56 (26–84) | 0.99 (0.96–1.01) | 0.388 |
| Sex (male) | 442 (80.5) | 88 (80.7) | 354 (80.5) | 1.01 (0.60–1.73) | 0.947 |
| Cause of liver disease | |||||
| Hepatitis B virus | 465 (84.7) | 94 (86.2) | 371 (84.3) | 1 (reference) | |
| Hepatitis C virus | 32 (5.8) | 9 (8.3) | 23 (5.2) | 1.54 (0.69–3.44) | 0.288 |
| Other | 52 (9.5) | 6 (5.5) | 46 (10.5) | 0.51 (0.21–1.20) | 0.139 |
| Liver cirrhosis | 247 (45.0) | 60 (55.0) | 187 (42.5) | 1.65 (1.08–2.52) | 0.019 |
| Laboratory factors | |||||
| AFP (ng/mL)* | 17.5 (1.3–47524.4) | 44.4 (1.3–8275.0) | 13.8 (1.3–47524.4) | 1.00 (1.00–1.00) | 0.546 |
| PIVKA-II* | 37 (3–35940) | 63 (13–7466) | 35 (3–35940) | 1.00 (1.00–1.00) | 0.732 |
| GGT* | 35 (8–600) | 44 (14–257) | 3335 (8–600) | 1.00 (0.99–1.00) | 0.834 |
| NLR* | 1.559 (0.539–10.750) | 1.481 (0.557–5.603) | 1.577 (0.539–10.750) | 0.80 (0.61–1.06) | 0.129 |
| APRI* | 0.438 (0–3.953) | 0.531 (0–3.953) | 0.425 (0–3.196) | 2.02 (1.36–3.06) | < 0.001 |
| NA‡ | 32 (5.8) | 6 (5.5) | 26 (5.9) | - | - |
| ≥ 0.413 | 291 (56.3) | 72 (69.9) | 219 (52.9) | 2.068 (1.301–3.286) | 0.002 |
| < 0.413 | 226 (43.7) | 31 (30.1) | 195 (47.1) | 1 (reference) | |
| ALBI score* | -3.12 (-3.79–1.82) | -3.11 (-3.71–1.82) | -3.12 (-3.79–1.99) | 1.47 (0.74–2.90) | 0.262 |
| Imaging factors | |||||
| Tumor size (mm)† | 2.81 ± 1.03 | 3.02 ± 1.00 | 2.76 ± 1.03 | 1.24 (1.02–1.51) | 0.018 |
| ≥ 35 | 177 (32.2) | 51 (28.8) | 126 (71.2) | 1.018 (1.007–1.028) | 0.001 |
| < 35 | 372 (67.8) | 58 (15.6) | 314 (84.4) | 1 (reference) | - |
| Irregualr tumor contour | 272 (49.5) | 63 (57.8) | 209 (47.5) | 1.51 (0.99–2.31) | 0.055 |
| Typical HCC enhancement pattern | 472 (86.0) | 89 (81.7) | 383 (87.0) | 0.66 (0.37–1.15) | 0.148 |
| Capsule | 374 (68.1) | 77 (70.6) | 297 (67.5) | 1.15 (0.73–1.83) | 0.528 |
| Intratumoral fat | 112 (20.4) | 25 (22.9) | 87 (19.8) | 1.20 (0.72–2.00) | 0.463 |
| Satellite nodule | 10 (1.8) | 1 (0.9) | 9 (2.0) | 0.44 (0.05–3.53) | 0.442 |
| Arterial rim enhancement | 75 (13.7) | 24 (22.0) | 51 (11.6) | 2.15 (1.25–3.69) | 0.005 |
| Peritumoral enhancement | 63 (11.5) | 19 (17.4) | 44 (10.0) | 1.90 (1.05–3.40) | 0.031 |
| Pertumoral hypointensity | 87 (15.8) | 15 (13.8) | 72 (16.4) | 0.81 (0.44–1.48) | 0.506 |
| NHHN | 64 (11.7) | 21 (19.3) | 43 (9.8) | 2.20 (1.24–3.89) | 0.006 |
| ADC value | 1023 (270–2791) | 997 (643–1896) | 1030 (270–2791) | 1.00 (0.99–1.00) | 0.508 |
| Pathologic factors | 66 (12.0) | 12 (11.0) | 54 (12.3) | 0.88 (0.45–1.71) | 0.716 |
| Anatomic resection | |||||
| Serosal invasion | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.9) | 1 (0.2) | 4.06 (0.25–65.50) | 0.322 |
| Safety margin | 289 (52.6) | 62 (56.9) | 227 (51.6) | 1.26 (0.82–1.93) | 0.278 |
| Satellite nodule | 12 (2.2) | 6 (5.6) | 6 (1.4) | 4.21 (1.33–13.33) | 0.014 |
| Gross vascular invasion | 10 (1.8) | 3 (2.8) | 7 (1.6) | 1.75 (0.44–6.88) | 0.422 |
| MVI | 196 (35.7) | 57 (52.3) | 139 (31.6) | 2.37 (1.55–3.63) | < 0.001 |
| Edmonson grade | - | - | - | - | 0.215 |
| Grade 1 (reference) | 50 (9.1) | 4 (3.7) | 46 (10.5) | 1 (reference) | - |
| Grade 2 | 460 (83.8) | 97 (89.0) | 363 (82.5) | 3.07 (1.08–8.74) | 0.035 |
| Grade 3 | 37 (6.7) | 8 (7.3) | 29 (6.6) | 3.17 (0.87–11.49) | 0.078 |
| Grade 4 | 2 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.5) | < 0.001 (< 0.001 to > 999.99) | 0.986 |
Unless otherwise indicated, data are numbers with percentage in parentheses. *Data are medians with range in parentheses, †Data are means ± standard deviations, ‡NA (missing) cases. Percentages were calculated after excluding NA (missing) cases. ADC = apparent diffusion coefficient, AFP = alpha-fetoprotein, ALBI = albumin-bilirubin, APRI = AST/platelet ratio index, AST = aspartate aminotransferase, CI = confidence interval, GGT = gamma-glutamyl transferase, HCC = hepatocellular carcinoma, MVI = microvascular invasion, NA = non-assessable, NHHN = nonhypervascular hepatobiliary hypointense nodule, NLR = neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, PIVKA-II = protein induced by vitamin K absence-II