TABLE 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients.
| Variables | Cirrhosis (N = 104) | HCC (N = 72) | P† | AFP-negative HCC (N = 24) | P‡ |
| Age (years), means ± SD | 54.26 ± 11.64 | 56.28 ± 10.93 | 0.25†† | 58.50 ± 11.78 | 0.24†† |
| Male (sex), n (%) | 75.00(72.12) | 49(68.06) | 0.37‡‡ | 18.00(75.00) | 0.78‡‡ |
| AFP (ng/ml), median (range) | 3.7 (0.79–592.20) | 56.99 (0.92–121000.00) | <0.01** | 5.38 (0.92–15.29) | 0.46** |
| ALT (U/L), median (range) | 28.25 (3.90–1048.50) | 36.15 (9.70–269.20) | 0.05** | 38.10 (13.60–172.90) | 0.18** |
| AST (U/L), median (range) | 40.15 (16.90–350.70) | 52.45 (13.40–339.30) | 0.15** | 49.30 (21.70–235.80) | 0.32** |
| TBIL (μmol/L), median (range) | 28.1 (9.60–373.80) | 23.35 (6.20–437.70) | 0.11** | 24.55 (9.70–437.70) | 0.49** |
| DBIL (mol/L), median (range) | 7.35 (1.5–200.03) | 6.60 (0.30–227.80) | 0.54** | 6.65 (2.10–227.80) | 0.68** |
| TP (g/L) means ± SD | 61.29 ± 8.60 | 61.75 ± 6.12 | 0.90†† | 60.98 ± 6.22 | 0.72†† |
| ALB (g/L) means ± SD | 34.07 ± 5.95 | 35.57 ± 5.18 | 0.10†† | 36.49 ± 5.16 | 0.06†† |
| MELD, median (range) | 10 (6.00–22.00) | 9.00 (6.00–25.00) | 0.04** | 10.00 (6.00–19.00) | 0.85** |
| FIB-4, median (range) | 5.30 (1.09–52.97) | 5.28 (0.52–30.55) | 0.41** | 5.22 (1.10–15.84) | 0.69** |
| APRI, median (range) | 1.45 (0.2–12.38) | 1.50 (0.12–9.20) | 0.58** | 1.52 (0.12–9.20) | 0.81** |
| Etiology | |||||
| HBV, n (%) | 49 (47.12) | 42 (58.33) | 0.14‡‡ | 10 (41.67) | 0.63‡‡ |
| HCV, n (%) | 15 (14.42) | 5 (6.94) | 0.12‡‡ | 2 (8.33) | 0.65‡‡ |
| ALD, n (%) | 17 (16.34) | 3 (4.17) | 0.01‡‡ | 2 (8.33) | 0.50‡‡ |
| Other*, n (%) | 23 (22.12) | 22 (30.56) | 0.21‡‡ | 10 (41.67) | 0.04‡‡ |
Data are expressed as means ± SD, median (range) or n (%). ††Indicates the comparison between cirrhosis and HCC or AFP-negative HCC using t test. ‡‡Indicates the comparison between cirrhosis and HCC or AFP-negative HCC using χ2 test. **Indicates the comparison between cirrhosis and HCC or AFP-negative HCC using Mann–Whitney U test. P† indicates the comparison between cirrhosis and HCC. P‡ indicates the comparison between cirrhosis and AFP-negative HCC. P < 0.05 is considered to be statistically significant. *Other etiology including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), cryptogenic, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), liver disease with two or more causes. HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; AFP, α-Fetoprotein; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; TBIL, total bilirubin; DBIL, direct bilirubin; TP, total protein; ALB, albumin; MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; FIB-4, Fibrosis 4 Score; APRI, Aspartate aminotransferase-to-Platelet Ratio Index; ALD, alcoholic liver disease.