TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma at time of initial HCC diagnosis
| Variable | No infiltration | Isolated HVTT | Isolated PVTT | PVTT + HVTT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number, n (%) | 791 (60.4) | 40 (3.1) | 352 (26.9) | 127 (9.7) |
| Median age, years (IQR) | 66.3 (59.5–72.7) | 66.2 (59.8–75.2) | 66.7 (59–73.1) | 65.6 (58.8–72.6) |
| Males, n (%) | 634 (80.2) | 35 (87.5) | 288 (81.8) | 107 (84.3) |
| Females, n (%) | 157 (19.8) | 5 (12.5) | 64 (18.2) | 20 (15.7) |
| Etiology, a n (%) | ||||
| Alcoholic | 329 (41.6) | 17 (42.5) | 174 (49.4) | 56 (44.1) |
| Hepatitis C | 199 (25.2) | 4 (10.0) | 78 (22.2) | 23 (18.1) |
| Hepatitis B | 72 (9.1) | 6 (15.0) | 34 (9.7) | 19 (15.0) |
| Hepatitis D | 9 (1.1) | 0 | 2 (0.6) | 0 |
| NASH | 51 (6.4) | 3 (7.5) | 23 (6.5) | 5 (3.9) |
| Hemochromatosis | 26 (3.3) | 3 (7.5) | 7 (2.0) | 2 (1.6) |
| Antitrypsin deficiency | 1 (0.1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIH | 6 (0.8) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PBC | 11 (1.4) | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.8) |
| PSC | 2 (0.2) | 0 | 2 (0.6) | 0 |
| Unknown/other | 145 (18.3) | 13 (32.5) | 48 (13.6) | 33 (26.0) |
| ALBI score, n (%) | ||||
| 1 | 118 (14.9) | 6 (15.0) | 22 (6.3) | 7 (5.5) |
| 2 | 409 (51.7) | 21 (52.5) | 167 (47.4) | 82 (64.6) |
| 3 | 196 (24.8) | 10 (25.0) | 128 (36.4) | 32 (25.2) |
| Unknown | 68 (8.6) | 3 (7.5) | 35 (9.9) | 6 (4.7) |
| BCLC, n (%) | ||||
| 0/A | 358 (45.3) | 8 (20.0) | 32 (9.1) | 5 (3.9) |
| B | 317 (40.1) | 27 (67.5) | 47 (13.3) | 19 (15.0) |
| C | 35 (4.4) | 4 (10.0) | 188 (53.4) | 86 (67.7) |
| D | 81 (10.2) | 1 (2.5) | 85 (24.1) | 17 (13.4) |
| Median max. tumor size, mm (IQR) | 38 (25–60) | 56 (39–103) | 60 (34–105) | 80 (47–109) |
| Diffuse growth pattern, n (%) | 50 (6.3) | 8 (20.0) | 123 (34.9) | 43 (33.9) |
| Intrahepatic tumor load, n (%) | ||||
| Solitary nodule | 531 (67.1) | 25 (62.5) | 123 (34.9) | 58 (45.7) |
| Multifocal nodular disease | 210 (26.5) | 7 (17.5) | 106 (30.1) | 26 (20.5) |
| Median AFP ng/ml (IQR) | 14 (5–95) | 87 (8–971) | 266 (14–4929) | 499 (29–4460) |
| Median platelet count, per nl (IQR) | 141 (90–222) | 195 (97–304) | 167 (106–251) | 182 (118–266) |
| Median cholinesterase level kU/L (IQR) | 4.8 (3.1–6.8) | 4.8 (3.2–7.3) | 4.0 (2.7–5.6) | 4.5 (3.0–6.5) |
| Median INR (IQR) | 1.1 (1.0–1.3) | 1.1 (1.0–1.2) | 1.2 (1.1–1.3) | 1.1 (1.1–1.2) |
| First‐line therapy, n (%) | ||||
| Resection | 234 (29.6) | 9 (22.5) | 47 (13.4) | 24 (18.9) |
| Liver transplantation | 33 (4.2) | 1 (2.5) | 3 (0.9) | 0 |
| Local ablation b | 51 (6.4) | 1 (2.5) | 2 (0.6) | 0 |
| TACE/SIRT c | 383 (48.4) | 22 (55) | 159 (45.2) | 36 (28.3) |
| Sorafenib | 25 (3.2) | 1 (2.5) | 35 (9.9) | 31 (24.4) |
| Other systemic therapy d | 3 (0.4) | 0 | 5 (1.4) | 0 |
| Best supportive care | 30 (3.8) | 2 (5.0) | 71 (20.2) | 20 (15.7) |
| Unknown | 32 (4.0) | 4 (10.0) | 30 (8.5) | 16 (12.6) |
Abbreviations: AFP, alpha‐fetoprotein; AIH, autoimmune hepatitis; ALBI score, albumin‐bilirubin score; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; HVTT, hepatic vein tumor thrombosis; INR, international normalized ratio; IQR, interquartile range; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; PBC, primary biliary cholangitis; PSC, primary sclerotic cholangitis; PVTT, portal vein tumor thrombosis; SIRT, selective internal radiation therapy; TACE, transarterial chemoembolization.
The sum of etiologies is >100%, because some patients had more than one etiology.
The distribution of the different types of local ablation was: n = 5 percutaneous ethanol injection, n = 35 radiofrequency ablation, n = 12 microwave ablation, n = 2 irreversible electroporation.
The distribution of the different types of intra‐arterial therapy was: n = 383 conventional transarterial chemoembolization, n = 201 drug‐eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization, n = 16 selective internal radiation therapy.
The distribution of the different types of chemotherapies was: n = 1 doxorubicin, n = 4 epirubicin, n = 2 gemcitabine + oxaliplatin, n = 1 sunitinib