Table 1.
Baseline demographics of participants with HCC.
| Total HCC cohort (N = 165) | Discovery cohort (n = 84) | Validation cohort (n = 81) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 61 (55–68) | 61 (55–69) | 61 (56–68) |
| Male sex | 139 (84.2%) | 70 (83.3%) | 69 (85.2%) |
| ECOG performance status | |||
| 0 | 68 (41.2%) | 48 (57.1%) | 20 (24.7%) |
| 1 | 97 (58.8%) | 36 (42.9%) | 61 (75.3%) |
| Child–Pugh classification | |||
| A5 | 99 (60.0%) | 59 (70.2%) | 40 (49.4%) |
| A6 | 45 (27.3%) | 20 (23.8%) | 25 (30.9%) |
| B7 | 21 (12.7%) | 5 (6.0%) | 16 (19.7%) |
| BCLC stage | |||
| B | 34 (20.6%) | 21 (25.0%) | 13 (16.0%) |
| C | 131 (79.4%) | 63 (75.0%) | 68 (84.0%) |
| AFP ≥400 ng/ml, n (%) | 56 (33.9%) | 26 (31.0%) | 30 (37.0%) |
| Presence of MVI | 61 (37.0%) | 24 (28.6%) | 37 (45.7%) |
| Presence of extrahepatic spread | 96 (58.2%) | 46 (54.8%) | 50 (61.7%) |
| Aetiology of HCC | |||
| Hepatitis B | 117 (67.3%) | 60 (71.4%) | 57 (70.4%) |
| Hepatitis C | 12 (6.7%) | 5 (6.0%) | 7 (8.6%) |
| Alcohol | 19 (11.5%) | 12 (14.3%) | 7 (8.6%) |
| Other or unknown | 17 (14.5%) | 7 (8.3%) | 10 (12.3%) |
| Prior local therapy for HCC | 109 (66.1%) | 58 (69.0%) | 51 (63.0%) |
| IL-6 at baseline, median (IQR) | 2.89 (0.8–8.9) | 3.29 (1.3–8.3) | 2.32 (0.0–9.4) |
| IL-6 at baseline | |||
| Negative or low (<18.49 pg/ml) | 140 (84.8%) | 74 (88.1%) | 66 (81.5%) |
| High (≥18.49 pg/ml) | 25 (15.2%) | 10 (11.9%) | 15 (18.5%) |
AFP, alpha-foetoprotein; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; MVI, macrovascular invasion.