Table 1.
Clinical, laboratory, and histopathological characteristics of the patients with NOS-HCC, SH-HCC, and MTM-HCC subtypes.
| Characteristics | All | NOS-HCC | SH-HCC | MTM-HCC | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical and laboratory features | |||||
| Patients | 266 | 186 (69.9) | 59 (22.2) | 21 (7.9) | — |
| Age (years) | 64.0 (55.0, 70.0) | 63.5 (55.0, 70.0) | 66.0 (61.0, 70.0) | 58.0 (43.5, 67.0) | 0.025 |
| Sex | 0.187 | ||||
| Men | 207 (77.8) | 147 (79.0) | 47 (79.7) | 13 (61.9) | |
| Women | 59 (22.2) | 39 (21.0) | 12 (20.3) | 8 (38.1) | |
| Age men (years) | 64.0 (55.0, 70.0) | 62.0 (44.8, 70.0) | 66.0 (62.0, 71.0) | 53.0 (40.0, 68.0) | 0.026 |
| Age women (years) | 66.0 (57.5, 70.0) | 66.0 (59.0, 71.0) | 66.5 (57.7, 68.7) | 60.0 (45.7, 67.5) | 0.409 |
| Chronic liver disease∗ | |||||
| Hepatitis C | 69 (25.9) | 53 (28.5) | 9 (15.3) | 7 (33.3) | 0.094 |
| Hepatitis B | 70 (26.3) | 50 (26.9) | 9 (15.3) | 11 (52.4) | 0.004 |
| Alcohol abuse | 48 (18.0) | 29 (15.6) | 18 (30.5) | 1 (4.8) | 0.009 |
| NAFLD | 90 (33.8) | 52 (28.0) | 32 (54.2) | 6 (28.6) | 0.001 |
| Vascular liver disease | 4 (1.5) | 2 (1.1) | 2 (3.4) | 0 (0) | 0.374 |
| Others | 13 (4.9) | 9 (4.8) | 4 (6.8) | 0 (0) | 0.464 |
| No risk | 32 (12.0) | 22 (11.8) | 7 (11.9) | 3 (14.3) | 0.947 |
| Cirrhosis | 85 (32.0) | 55 (29.6) | 24 (40.7) | 6 (28.6) | 0.264 |
| LI-RADS high-risk status | 141 (53.0) | 96 (51.6) | 30 (50.8) | 15 (71.4) | 0.211 |
| AST (IU/L) | 45.0 (33.0, 73.0) | 45.0 (31.2, 72.0) | 41.0 (33.0, 57.5) | 100.0 (56.7, 162.7) | <0.001 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 43.0 (28.0, 69.0) | 43.5 (26.2, 69.0) | 39.0 (26.7, 53.0) | 67.0 (42.0, 117.2) | 0.006 |
| Albumin (g/L) | 38.0 (34.0, 41.0) | 38.0 (35.0, 41.0) | 38.5 (34.0, 43.0) | 35.0 (27.0, 39.2) | 0.023 |
| Creatinine (μmol/L) | 80.0 (70.0, 95.0) | 78.0 (69.0, 95.0) | 86.0 (74.5, 98.0) | 79.0, (66.2, 84.5) | 0.061 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/L) | 10.0 (7.0, 14.0) | 9.0 (7.0, 14.0) | 8.0 (7.0, 11.5) | 12.0 (8.7, 15.5) | 0.504 |
| Platelet count (×103/μl) | 209 (157, 248) | 209 (160, 246) | 200 (142, 248) | 230 (198, 314) | 0.435 |
| α-foetoprotein (ng/ml) | 9.0 (4.0, 183.0) | 8.0 (4.0, 124.0) | 6.0 (3.0, 32.0) | 14700 (111, 27650) | <0.001 |
| RFS (median, 95% CI) | 39.0 (26.7, 51.3) | 38.0 (25.6, 50.4) | 58.0 (29.4, 86.6) | 18.0 (1.0, 39.1) | 0.698 |
| OS (median, 95% CI) | 88.0 (69.8, 104.3) | Not reached | 82.0 (69.8, 94.1) | 65.0 (46.4, 76.7) | 0.750 |
| Histopathological features | |||||
| HCC | 282 | 197 (69.9) | 62 (22.0) | 23 (8.1) | — |
| Edmonson–Steiner grade | 0.004 | ||||
| I–II | 84 (29.8) | 66 (33.5) | 18 (29.0) | 0 (0) | |
| III–IV | 198 (70.2) | 131 (66.5) | 44 (71.0) | 23 (100) | |
| Macrovascular invasion | 30 (10.6) | 16 (8.1) | 3 (4.8) | 11 (47.8) | <0.001 |
| Microvascular invasion | 162 (57.4) | 116 (58.9) | 26 (41.9) | 20 (87.0) | 0.001 |
| Satellite nodules | 60 (21.3) | 39 (19.8) | 11 (17.7) | 10 (43.5) | 0.024 |
| Macroscopic capsule | 193 (68.4) | 147 (74.6) | 33 (53.2) | 13 (56.5) | 0.003 |
| Microscopic capsule | 211 (74.8) | 153 (77.7) | 42 (67.7) | 16 (69.6) | 0.243 |
| Hepatic steatosis | 0.008 | ||||
| None | 171 (60.0) | 128 (65.0) | 25 (40.3) | 18 (78.3) | |
| Mild | 78 (27.7) | 47 (23.9) | 28 (45.2) | 3 (13.0) | |
| Moderate | 31 (11.0) | 20 (10.2) | 9 (14.5) | 2 (8.7) | |
| Severe | 2 (0.7) | 2 (1.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Hepatic fibrosis stage | 0.845 | ||||
| F0 | 31 (11.0) | 23 (11.7) | 4 (6.5) | 4 (17.4) | |
| F1 | 42 (14.9) | 30 (15.2) | 9 (14.4) | 3 (13.0) | |
| F2 | 54 (19.1) | 40 (20.3) | 11 (17.7) | 3 (13.0) | |
| F3 | 65 (23.1) | 45 (22.8) | 14 (22.6) | 6 (26.1) | |
| F4 | 90 (31.9) | 59 (29.9) | 24 (38.7) | 7 (30.4) | |
Continuous variables are expressed as medians and IQRs (25th to 75th percentiles) in parentheses, and categorical variables are expressed as numbers and percentages in parentheses. Continuous variables were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Categorial variables were compared using the the Pearson χ2 test. Statistically significant values (p <0.05) are highlighted in bold. In patients with 2 HCCs, the largest lesion was considered for subclassification.
ALT, alanine transaminase; AST, aspartate transaminase; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; LI-RADS, Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System; MTM-HCC, macrotrabecular massive hepatocellular carcinoma; NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NOS-HCC, not otherwise specified hepatocellular carcinoma; OS, overall survival; RFS, recurrence-free survival; SH-HCC, steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma.
More than 1 aetiology could be present in each patient.