Table 1.
Baseline clinical characteristics
| All (n = 100) | Low SMI (n = 59) | High SMI (n = 41) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 71.5±9.2 | 74.5±6.5 | 66.5±11.7 | 0.001 |
| Males | 75 (75.0%) | 42 (71.1%) | 33 (80.0%) | 0.352 |
| Etiology (HBV/HCV/alcohol/NASH/other] | 19/34/24/16/7 | 8/22/16/8/5 | 11/12/8/8/2 | 0.364 |
| Performance status [0/1] | 94/6 | 55/4 | 39/2 | 1.000 |
| Child-Pugh score 5:6:7:8:9 | 57:15:12:12:4 | 35:7:6:9:2 | 22:8:6:3:2 | 0.577 |
| Child-Pugh class (A/B) | 72/28 | 41/18 | 31/10 | 0.651 |
| BW, kg | 61.5±11.7 | 58.5±10.8 | 65.2±11.5 | 0.004 |
| BW (<60 kg/≥60 kg] | 47/53 | 33/26 | 26/15 | 0.059 |
| Body mass index | 23.2±4.77 | 22.3±3.2 | 25.9±8.0 | 0.043 |
| SMI [men/women] | 39.0±7.3/35.3±8.6 | 33.9±5.1/30.7±5.4 | 45.6±3.2/45.0±5.4 | 0.001/0.001 |
| BCAA supplementation | 16 (16.0%) | 11 (11.0%) | 5 (5.0%) | 0.423 |
| BCLC stage (B/C) | 49/51 | 29/30 | 20/21 | 1.000 |
| Macroscopic portal vein invasion (yes/no] | 27/73 | 21/38 | 6/35 | 0.023 |
| Extrahepatic spread [yes/no] | 36/64 | 20/39 | 16/25 | 0.674 |
| Up to 7 (in/out) | 41/59 | 30/29 | 27/14 | 0.155 |
| Tumor size, mm | 51.8±42.9 | 59.8±43.0 | 42.8±43.4 | 0.058 |
| Previous therapy | ||||
| Molecularly targeted therapy | 37 | 22 | 15 | 0.315 |
| Transcatheter treatment | 81 | 50 | 31 | 0.187 |
| Initial dose of lenvatinib (8 mg/12 mg] | 70/30 | 43/16 | 27/14 | 0.452 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 12.5±1.92 | 12.3±1.75 | 12.6±2.17 | 0.501 |
| Platelets, ×l04/µL | 14.2±13.1 | 14.7±7.12 | 13.4±7.78 | 0.397 |
| Prothrombin time, % | 85.2±19.4 | 85.2±19.0 | 85.3±20.2 | 0.976 |
| Serum albumin, g/dL | 3.6±0.59 | 3.47±0.57 | 3.80±0.58 | 0.012 |
| Blood urea nitrogen, g/dL | 16.4±6.25 | 14.1±6.31 | <underline>18.1</underline>±<underline>5.41</underline> | 0.001 |
| Serum creatinine, mg/dL | 0.86±0.36 | 0.89±0.44 | 0.81±0.20 | 0.206 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase, IU/L | 56.3±33.9 | 58.8±31.6 | 52.8±37.0 | 0.382 |
| Alanine aminotransferase, IU/L | 39.0±24.9 | 39.7±24.7 | 38.5±25.6 | 0.396 |
| Total bilirubin, g/dL | 1.16±1.01 | 1.21±1.33 | 1.10±0.54 | 0.586 |
| Ammonia, µg/dL | 51.2±43.0 | 49.2±28.4 | 53.2±32.6 | 0.639 |
| Alpha-fetoprotein, ng/mL | 8,961±41,476 | 11,310±52,372 | 5,639±16,936 | 0.506 |
| PIVKA-II, mAU/mL | 11,796±28,538 | 13,405±30,328 | 9,481±25,936 | 0.502 |
BCAA, branched-chain amino acid; BW, body weight; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; PIVKA-II, protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II; SMI, skeletal muscle index.