Table 1.
Patient demographics and comparison of baseline characteristics of patients
| All cohort (n = 83) | IL6 low (n = 35) | IL6 high (n = 48) | p | IL8 low (n = 45) | IL8 high (n = 38) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (male) | 77 (92.7) | 34 (97.1) | 43 (89.5) | 0.393 | 42 (93.3) | 35 (92.1) | > 0.999 |
| Age (≥ 65 years) | 42 (50.6) | 18 (51.4) | 24 (50.0) | > 0.999 | 24 (53.3) | 18 (47.3) | 0.588 |
| Race (White) | 74 (89.1) | 32 (91.4) | 42 (87.5) | 0.727 | 41 (91.1) | 33 (86.8) | 0.725 |
| ECOG | |||||||
| 0 | 58 (69.8) | 28 (80.0) | 30 (62.5) | 0.111 | 35 (77.8) | 23 (60.5) | 0.122 |
| 1 | 24 (28.9) | 7 (20.0) | 17 (35.4) | 10 (22.2) | 14 (36.8) | ||
| Missing | 1 (1.2) | 1 (2.1) | 1 (2.6) | ||||
| Liver cirrhosis (yes) | 70 (84.3) | 26 (74.2) | 44 (91.6) | 0.065 | 34 (75.5) | 36 (94.7) | 0.03 |
| HCC etiology | |||||||
| Hepatitis B | 4 (4.8) | 2 (5.7) | 2 (4.1) | > 0.999 | 3 (6.6) | 1 (2.6) | 0.621 |
| Hepatitis C | 19 (22.8) | 6 (17.1) | 13 (27.0) | 0.287 | 10 (22.2) | 9 (23.6) | 0.874 |
| Alcohol | 44 (53) | 15 (42.8) | 29 (60.4) | 0.113 | 18 (40) | 26 (68.4) | 0.009 |
| Previous TACE | 18 (15.6) | 9 (25.7) | 9 (18.7) | 0.447 | 11 (24.4) | 7 (18.4) | 0.507 |
| Diffuse disease (≥ 10 lesion) | 48 (49.3) | 20 (57.1) | 28 (58.3) | 0.913 | 22 (48.8) | 26 (68.4) | 0.072 |
| Median (mean) target lesion size, mm | 68 (72.4) | 66 (74.2) | 70 (69.8) | 0.65 | 56 (65.8) | 73.5 (80.1) | 0.13 |
| Portal vein infiltration | 31 (37.3) | 9 (25.7) | 22 (45.8) | 0.061 | 11 (24.4) | 20 (52.6) | 0.008 |
| Extrahepatic spread | 21 (25.3) | 6 (17.1) | 15 (31.2) | 0.144 | 11 (24.4) | 10 (26.3) | 0.845 |
| Child–Pugh | |||||||
| A | 77 (92.7) | 34 (97.1) | 43 (89.5) | 0.393 | 44 (97.7) | 33 (86.8) | 0.088 |
| B | 6 (7.2) | 1 (2.8) | 5 (10.4) | 1 (2.2) | 5 (13.1) | ||
| BCLC | |||||||
| B | 26 (31.3) | 15 (42.8) | 11 (22.9) | 0.053 | 16 (35.6) | 10 (26.3) | 0.365 |
| C | 57 (68.6) | 20 (57.1) | 37 (77.0) | 29 (64.4) | 28 (73.6) | ||
| Up-to-7 criteria (outside) | 71 (85.5) | 29 (82.8) | 42 (87.5) | 0.552 | 37 (82.2) | 34 (89.4) | 0.532 |
| Total bilirubin ≥ 17 µmol/L | 25 (30.1) | 6 (17.1) | 19 (39.5) | 0.027 | 11 (24.4) | 14 (36.8) | 0.22 |
| Albumin < 36 g/L | 20 (24.1) | 3 (8.5) | 17 (35.4) | 0.004 | 7 (15.5) | 13 (34.2) | 0.054 |
| AFP ≥ 400 | 29 (34.9) | 11 (31.4) | 18 (37.5) | 0.519 | 13 (28.8) | 16 (42.1) | 0.235 |
| mALBI grade (2b and 3) | 21 (25.3) | 3 (8.5) | 18 (37.5) | 0.002 | 8 (17.7) | 13 (34.2) | 0.129 |
Bold type indicates statistical significance;
IL, interleukin; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; mALBI, modified albumin–bilirubin; TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; AFP, alfa fetoprotein