Table 1.
Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics in 211 patients
| Characteristics | Total (N = 211) | LEN + TACE (N1 = 142) | LEN (N2 = 69) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 53 (45–61) | 52.5 (43–61.3) | 53 (46–62) | 0.734 |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 184 (87.2) | 127 (89.4) | 57 (82.6) | 0.164 |
| Female | 27 (12.8) | 15 (10.6) | 12 (17.4) | |
| Etiology, n (%) | ||||
| HBV | 195 (92.4) | 131 (92.3) | 64 (92.8) | 0.898 |
| Others | 16 (7.6) | 11 (7.7) | 5 (7.8) | |
| BCLC stage, n (%) | ||||
| A | 13 (6.2) | 11 (7.7) | 2 (2.9) | 0.281 |
| B | 26 (12.3) | 19 (13.4) | 7 (10.1) | |
| C | 172 (81.5) | 112 (78.9) | 60 (87) | |
| ECOG PS score, n (%) | ||||
| 0 | 116 (55) | 80 (56.3) | 36 (52.8) | 0.568 |
| 1 | 95 (45) | 62 (43.7) | 33 (47.2) | |
| Tumor number, n (%) | ||||
| 1 | 77 (36.5) | 53 (37.3) | 24 (34.8) | 0.932 |
| 2 | 35 (16.6) | 23 (16.2) | 12 (17.4) | |
| ≥3 | 99 (46.9) | 66 (46.5) | 33 (47.8) | |
| Tumor size, cm, median (IQR) | 8.4 (4.7–12.3) | 9 (5.1–12.4) | 7.3 (3.6–11.9) | 0.211 |
| MVI, n (%) | ||||
| Absence | 96 (45.5) | 62 (43.7) | 34 (49.7) | 0.442 |
| Presence | 115 (55.5) | 80 (56.3) | 35 (50.3) | |
| Vp2 | 49 (42.6) | 37 (46.3) | 12 (34.3) | 0.486 |
| Vp3 | 54 (46.9) | 35 (47.7) | 19 (54.3) | |
| Vp4 | 12 (10.5) | 8 (10) | 4 (11.4) | |
| EHS, n (%) | ||||
| Absence | 128 (60.7) | 92 (64.8) | 36 (52.2) | 0.078 |
| Presence | 83 (39.3) | 50 (35.2) | 33 (47.8) | |
| Cirrhosis, n (%) | ||||
| Absence | 39 (18.5) | 28 (19.7) | 11 (15.9) | 0.507 |
| Presence | 172 (81.5) | 114 (80.3) | 58 (84.1) | |
| Ascites, n (%) | ||||
| Absence | 159 (75.4) | 111 (78.2) | 48 (69.6) | 0.174 |
| Presence | 52 (24.6) | 31 (21.8) | 21 (30.4) | |
| Child-Pugh score, n (%) | ||||
| 5 | 112 (53.1) | 79 (55.6) | 33 (47.8) | 0.385 |
| 6 | 54 (25.6) | 36 (25.4) | 18 (26.1) | |
| 7 | 29 (13.7) | 18 (12.7) | 11 (15.9) | |
| 8 | 12 (5.7) | 8 (5.6) | 4 (5.8) | |
| 9 | 4 (1.9) | 1 (0.7) | 3 (4.3) | |
| AFP, n (%) | ||||
| ≤200 ng/mL | 94 (45.5) | 67 (47.2) | 27 39.1) | 0.27 |
| >200 ng/mL | 117 (55.5) | 75 (52.8) | 42 (60.1) | |
| ALB, g/L, median (IQR) | 38.2 (34.2–42.4) | 38.4 (33.9–42.1) | 37.5 (34.3–43.7) | 0.418 |
| TBIL, µmol/mL, median (IQR) | 19.0 (13.4–27) | 19.1 (13.5–26.1) | 17.9 (13.1–28.5) | 0.394 |
| ALBI grade, n (%) | ||||
| 1 | 79 (39.4) | 52 (36.6) | 27 (39.1) | 0.797 |
| 2 | 127 (60.2) | 86 (60.6) | 47 (59.4) | |
| 3 | 5 (2.4) | 4 (2.8) | 1 (1.4) | |
| AST, U/L, median (IQR) | 52 (34–80) | 50.5 (33.8–80.3) | 58 (34–87) | 0.61 |
| ALT, U/L, median (IQR) | 38.1 (23–61) | 38 (24–60.3) | 40 (19–68.5) | 0.719 |
| BUN, mmol/L, median (IQR) | 4.53 (3.6–5.6) | 4.4 (3.6–5.2) | 5.1 (3.75–5.95) | 0.006 |
| Cr, µmol/L, median (IQR) | 66 (56–76) | 67 (57–76.3) | 62 (53–76.5) | 0.777 |
| WBC, ×109/L, median (IQR) | 5.7 (4.16–7.1) | 6.0 (4.2–7.8) | 5.1 (3.8–6.4) | 0.01 |
| PLT, ×109/L, median (IQR) | 145 (95–222) | 156.5 (96.8–225) | 129 (90–220) | 0.551 |
| INR, median (IQR) | 1.07 (1.00–1.13) | 1.06 (1.00–1.12) | 1.08 (1.02–1.15) | 0.084 |
| Previous treatment, n (%) | ||||
| No | 106 (50.2) | 77 (54.2) | 29 (42) | 0.096 |
| Yes | ||||
| Liver resection | 40 (19) | 24 (16.9) | 16 (23.2) | |
| TACE | 51 (24.2) | 34 (23.9) | 17 (24.6) | |
| LT | 5 (2.4) | 0 | 5 (7.2) | |
| Ablation | 8 (3.8) | 6 (4.2) | 2 (2.9) | |
| Ablation + TACE | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.7) | 0 | |
| Duration of lenvatinib, months, mean ± SE | 7±5.1 | 7.6±5.4 | 5.8±4.3 | 0.047 |
AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; ALB, albumin; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; Cr, creatinine; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; EHS, extrahepatic spread; HBV, hepatic B virus; INR, international normalized ratio; IQR, interquartile range; LEN, lenvatinib; LT, liver transplantation; MVI, macrovascular invasion; PLT, platelet; PS, performance status; SE, standard error; TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; TBIL, total bilirubin; WBC, white blood cell.