Table 1.
Characteristics of 60 HBV-HCC patients treated with ICIs
| Characteristics | HBV DNA ≤100 IU/mL on NUCs | HBV DNA >100 IU/mL on NUCs | Patient with HBV without NUCs |
P value |
| (n=35) | (n=19) | (n=6) | ||
| Age, year | 63.4 (45.6–78.8) | 58.0 (40.8–77.7) | 56.5 (40.1–66.5) | 0.019 |
| Sex (male), n (%) | 31 (88.6) | 15 (78.9) | 4 (66.7) | 0.341 |
| NUCs, ETV/TDF/TAF, n (%) | 24/8/3 (68.6/22.9/8.6) | 15/1/3 (78.9/5.3/15.8) | – | – |
| Anti-HCV positive, n (%) | 1 (2.9) | 0 (0) | 1 (16.7) | 0.136 |
| Max. tumor size, cm | 4.0 (1.0–12.1) | 8.7 (3.3–17.0) | 8.8 (1.6–14.4) | <0.001 |
| Tumor >50% liver volume, n (%) | 6 (17.1) | 10 (52.6) | 4 (66.7) | 0.006 |
| Multiple tumors, n (%) | 32 (91.4) | 19 (100.0) | 6 (100.0) | 0.324 |
| Extrahepatic metastasis, n (%) | 19 (54.3) | 8 (42.1) | 2 (33.3) | 0.514 |
| Portal vein invasion, n (%) | 16 (45.7) | 4 (73.7) | 5 (83.3) | 0.058 |
| AFP, ng/mL | 373.2 (1.8–272 689.4) | 1992.6 (13.7–785 992.2) | 3082.2 (1076.2–1 148 415.7) | 0.028 |
| BCLC stage B/C, n (%) | 8/27 (22.9/77.1) | 4/15 (21.1/78.9) | 0/6 (0/100.0) | 0.429 |
| Prothrombin time, INR | 1.16 (0.90–1.47) | 1.10 (1.00–3.12) | 1.09 (0.97–1.42) | 0.600 |
| Platelet count, K/cumm | 122 (43–360) | 182 (71–553) | 148 (128–367) | 0.057 |
| ALT, U/L | 35 (11–254) | 47 (17–213) | 39 (22–64) | 0.448 |
| AST, U/L | 42 (16–366) | 90 (27–480) | 61 (29–140) | 0.106 |
| Total bilirubin, mg/dL | 0.69 (0.22–2.41) | 1.10 (0.25–10.08) | 0.97 (0.29–1.44) | 0.854 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.8 (2.7–4.9) | 3.6 (2.3–4.4) | 3.5 (3.2–4.0) | 0.106 |
| Neutrophil, /cumm | 4800 (2300–11900) | 5550 (2500–12300) | 5500 (3900–11600) | 0.258 |
| Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio | 3.89 (1.46–11.01) | 3.90 (2.52–15.13) | 4.45 (2.03–10.68) | 0.684 |
| Presence of ascites, n (%) | 11 (31.4) | 9 (47.4) | 4 (66.7) | 0.194 |
| Child-Pugh score | 6 (5–9) | 6 (5–12) | 6 (5–7) | 0.368 |
| Child-Pugh class A/B/C, n (%) | 28/7/0 (80.0/20.0/0) | 12/6/1 (63.2/31.6/5.3) | 4/2/0 (66.7/33.3/0) | 0.475 |
| ALBI grade 1/2/3, n (%) | 15/18/2 (42.9/51.4/5.7) | 4/12/3 (21.1/63.2/15.8) | 2/4/0 (33.3/66.7/14.3) | 0.386 |
| ICI treatment cycle | 5 (1–35) | 5 (1–23) | 9 (4–19) | 0.232 |
| ICI treatment duration, months | 2.1 (0.5–24.5) | 2.3 (0.2–15.0) | 5.1 (1.6–13.6) | 0.257 |
| Prior therapy to ICI, n (%) | ||||
| Surgical resection | 22 (62.9) | 4 (21.1) | 3 (50.0) | 0.013 |
| RFA | 16 (45.7) | 3 (15.8) | 2 (33.3) | 0.088 |
| TACE | 22 (62.9) | 8 (42.1) | 5 (83.3) | 0.143 |
| Sorafenib | 19 (54.3) | 10 (52.6) | 5 (83.3) | 0.378 |
| Combined ICI with TKI, n (%) | 9 (25.7) | 2 (10.5) | 2 (33.3) | 0.605 |
| Immune-related AEs, n (%) | 6 (17.2) | 3 (15.8) | 0 (0) | 0.550 |
| Follow-up period, months | 5.4 (0.5–25.7) | 3.9 (0.2–17.9) | 10.4 (4.0–24.8) | 0.199 |
Continuous variables are expressed as median (range).
AEs, adverse events; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; AL(S)T, alanine (aspartate) aminotransferase; ETV, entecavir; ALBI grade, albumin-bilirubin grade; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; ICI, immune checkpoint inhibitor; INR, international normalized ratio; NUCs, nucleos(t)ide analogs; RFA, radiofrequency ablation; BCLC stage, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage; TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; TAF, tenofovir alafenamide; TDF, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; TKI, tyrosine kinase inhibitor.