Table 1.
Patient and treatment characteristics between the two groups.
| Before propensity matching | After propensity matching | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factor | Level | RT | TACE + RT | P | RT | TACE + RT | P | Absolute standardized difference |
| n | 99 | 49 | 41 | 41 | ||||
| Gender | Male | 88 (89%) | 41 (84%) | 0.37 | 37 (90%) | 37 (90%) | 1 | 0.63 |
| Female | 11 (11%) | 8 (16%) | 4 (10%) | 4 (10%) | ||||
| Age, median (IQR) (y) | 47 (40, 55) | 47 (41, 56) | 0.61 | 44 (38, 50) | 47 (41, 54) | 0.42 | −0.19 | |
| ECOG | 0 | 8 (8%) | 13 (27%) | 0.002 | 6 (15%) | 7 (17%) | 0.76 | 0.758 |
| 1 | 91 (92%) | 36 (73%) | 35 (85%) | 34 (83%) | ||||
| Hepatitis B virus | Negative | 21 (21%) | 2 (4%) | 0.007 | 3 (7%) | 2 (5%) | 0.64 | 0.633 |
| Positive | 78 (79%) | 47 (96%) | 38 (93%) | 39 (95%) | ||||
| KPS, median (IQR) | 80 (80, 80) | 80 (80, 90) | 0.063 | 80 (80, 80) | 80 (80, 80) | 0.95 | 0.887 | |
| Tbil, median (IQR) umol/L | 15.7 (12.3, 25.1) | 15.2 (10.9, 19.2) | 0.26 | 14 (10.8, 21.9) | 15.7 (10.8, 19.2) | 0.94 | 0.68 | |
| Albumin, median (IQR) g/L | 37.8 (35, 40.3) | 40 (38.8, 43) | <0.001 | 39.9 (37.3, 43.2) | 39.6 (38.6, 42.8) | 0.78 | 0.77 | |
| Urea, median (IQR) mmol/L | 4.7 (3.9, 5.4) | 5 (3.92, 6.5) | 0.17 | 4.5 (3.6, 5.1) | 4.78 (4, 6.71) | 0.33 | 0.16 | |
| ALP, median (IQR) U/L | 140 (108, 194) | 116 (83, 172) | 0.027 | 130 (96, 189) | 132 (99, 173) | 0.6 | 0.573 | |
| PT, median (IQR) sec | 12.6 (12,14) | 13 (12,14) | 0.34 | 12.6 (12, 13.9) | 12.8 (12,14) | 0.51 | 0.17 | |
| ALBI score, median (IQR) | −2.47041 (−2.66009, −2.12306) |
−2.6852 (−2.88263, −2.54889) |
<0.001 | −2.5828 (−2.85849, −2.34022) |
−2.6714 (−2.80294, −2.485) |
0.69 | 0.68 | |
| ALBI grade, median (IQR) | 2 (1,2) | 1 (1,2) | <0.001 | 2 (1,2) | 1 (1,2) | 0.27 | 0.26 | |
| AFP, median (IQR) ng/ml | 450 (21.74, 1480) | 259.1 (30, 600) | 0.23 | 450 (18, 1400) | 290 (10, 600) | 0.24 | 0.01 | |
| Tumor size, median (IQR), cm | 9 (7, 11.2) | 7.8 (5.5, 11.2) | 0.2 | 9 (7, 10.5) | 8 (6, 11.5) | 0.63 | 0.43 | |
| Tumor number | 1 | 81 (82%) | 42 (86%) | 0.82 | 33 (80%) | 35 (85%) | 0.8 | −0.02 |
| 2 | 6 (6%) | 2 (4%) | 2 (5%) | 2 (5%) | ||||
| ≥3 | 12 (12%) | 5 (10%) | 6 (15%) | 4 (10%) | ||||
| Cheng's type of PVTT | I | 3 (3%) | 3 (6%) | 0.35 | 2 (5%) | 2 (5%) | 0.23 | −0.12 |
| IIa | 56 (57%) | 28 (57%) | 23 (56%) | 25 (61%) | ||||
| IIb | 5 (5%) | 1 (2%) | 2 (5%) | 1 (2%) | ||||
| III | 27 (27%) | 11 (22%) | 12 (29%) | 9 (22%) | ||||
| IV | 3 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (5%) | 0 (0%) | ||||
| IVCTT | 5 (5%) | 6 (12%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (10%) | ||||
| RT dose, median (IQR), Gy | 52 (48, 55.2) | 49 (45, 54) | 0.38 | 52 (45, 56) | 49.5 (46.4, 54) | 0.62 | 0.24 | |
| RT fractions median (IQR) | 12 (10,14) | 12 (10,15) | 0.88 | 12 (10,15) | 11 (10,15) | 0.58 | −0.3 | |
AFP, α-fetoprotein; ALBI, albumin–bilirubin; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; IQR, interquartile range; PT, prothrombin time; RT, radiation therapy; TACE, transarterial embolization.