Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of patients in the training and test sets
| Training set (n = 115) | p value | Test set (n = 29) | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | OR | NOR | OR | |||
| Age (years) | 59.42 ± 12.54 | 61.29 ± 11.62 | 0.411a | 55.25 ± 11.67 | 62.538 ± 15.09 | 0.154a |
| Sex | 0.904 | 0.488 | ||||
| Male | 50 (84.7%) | 47 (83.9%) | 14 (87.5%) | 13 (100%) | ||
| Female | 9 (15.3%) | 9 (16.1%) | 2 (12.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | ||
| Hypertension | 0.392 | 0.78 | ||||
| No | 50 (84.7%) | 44 (78.6%) | 16 (100%) | 10 (76.9%) | ||
| Yes | 9 (15.3%) | 12 (21.4%) | 0 (0.0%) | 3 (23.1%) | ||
| Diabetes | 0.743 | 1 | ||||
| No | 53 (89.8%) | 52 (92.9%) | 15 (93.8%) | 12 (92.3%) | ||
| Yes | 6 (10.2%) | 4 (7.1%) | 1 (6.2%) | 1 (7.7%) | ||
| HBsAg | 0.51 | 1 | ||||
| Negative | 18 (30.5%) | 14 (25%) | 9 (15.3%) | 9 (16.1%) | ||
| Positive | 41 (69.5%) | 42 (75%) | 50 (84.7%) | 47 (83.9%) | ||
| Child–Pugh classification | 0.05 | 0.697 | ||||
| A | 39 (66.1%) | 46 (82.1%) | 11 (68.8%) | 10 (76.9%) | ||
| B/C | 20 (33.9%) | 10 (17.9%) | 5 (31.2%) | 3 (23.1%) | ||
| BCLC stage | 0.089 | 0.143 | ||||
| A | 32 (54.2%) | 39 (69.6%) | 4 (25%) | 7 (53.8%) | ||
| B/C | 27 (45.8%) | 17 (30.4%) | 12 (75%) | 6 (46.2%) | ||
| Treatment modality | 0.118 | 0.379 | ||||
| c-TACE | 37 (62.7%) | 27 (48.2%) | 6 (37.5%) | 7 (53.8%) | ||
| DEB‑TACE | 22 (37.2%) | 29 (51.8%) | 10 (62.5%) | 6 (46.2%) | ||
| Laboratory values | ||||||
| AFP | 0.698 | 0.606 | ||||
| ≤ 400 (ng/ml) | 42 (71.2%) | 38 (67.9%) | 13 (81.2%) | 12 (92.3%) | ||
| > 400 (ng/ml) | 17 (28.8%) | 18 (32.1%) | 3 (18.8%) | 1 (7.7%) | ||
| CEA | 0.251 | 0.606 | ||||
| ≤ 5 ng/ml | 52 (88.1%) | 45 (80.4%) | 13 (81.2%) | 12 (92.3%) | ||
| > 5 ng/ml | 7 (11.9%) | 11 (19.6%) | 3 (18.8%) | 1 (7.7%) | ||
| AST | 0.158 | 0.588 | ||||
| ≤ 40 (U/L) | 27 (45.8%) | 33 (58.9%) | 7 (43.8%) | 7 (53.8%) | ||
| > 40 (U/L) | 32 (54.2%) | 23 (41.1%) | 9 (56.2%) | 6 (46.2%) | ||
| ALT | 0.322 | 0.379 | ||||
| ≤ 50 (U/L) | 42 (71.2%) | 35 (62.5%) | 10 (62.5%) | 6 (46.2%) | ||
| > 50 (U/L) | 17 (28.8%) | 21 (37.5%) | 6 (37.5%) | 7 (53.8%) | ||
| Albumin | 0.542 | 0.321 | ||||
| > 40 (g/L) | 10 (16.9%) | 12 (21.4%) | 5 (31.2%) | 2 (15.4%) | ||
| ≤ 40 (g/L) | 49 (83.1%) | 44 (78.6%) | 11 (68.8%) | 11 (84.6%) | ||
| Total bilirubin | 0.403 | 1 | ||||
| ≤ 17.1 (µmol/L) | 27 (45.8%) | 30 (53.6%) | 6 (37.5%) | 5 (38.5%) | ||
| > 17.1 (µmol/L) | 32 (54.2%) | 26 (46.4%) | 10 (62.5%) | 8 (61.5%) | ||
| Prothrombin time | 0.574 | 0.837 | ||||
| ≤ 13 (s) | 36 (61%) | 37 (66.1%) | 8 (50%) | 6 (46.2%) | ||
| > 13 (s) | 23 (39%) | 19 (33.9%) | 8 (50%) | 7 (53.8%) | ||
| Platelet count | 0.412 | 0.774 | ||||
| ≥ 125 × 109/L | 25 (42.4%) | 28 (50%) | 7 (43.8%) | 5 (38.5%) | ||
| < 125 × 109/L | 34 (57.6%) | 28 (50%) | 9 (56.2%) | 8 (61.5%) | ||
| NLR | 3.46 (2.27–5.4) | 3 (1.91–5.98) | 0.849b* | 2.38 (1.71–3.35) | 4.11 (2.52–6.38) | 0.015b* |
| PLR | 106 (70–160) | 97.5 (67.5–153.3) | 0.585b* | 80.41 (0.467–2.243) | 90 (65.24–137.08) | 0.589b* |
| MR imaging features | ||||||
| Cirrhosis of background | 0.168 | 1 | ||||
| Absent | 17 (28.8%) | 23 (41.1%) | 6 (37.5%) | 5 (38.5%) | ||
| Present | 42 (71.2%) | 33 (58.9%) | 10 (62.5%) | 8 (61.5%) | ||
| Tumor number | 0.433 | 0.379 | ||||
| Solitary | 37 (62.7%) | 39 (69.6%) | 6 (37.5%) | 7 (53.8%) | ||
| Multiple | 22 (37.3%) | 17 (30.4%) | 10 (62.5%) | 6 (46.2%) | ||
| Tumor diameter | 4.7 (2.1 to 7. 7) | 3.6 (1.7 to 6.12) | 0.17b* | 5.1 (2.02 to 9.65) | 4.3 (3.05 to 6.65) | 0.559b* |
| Tumor margin | 0.321 | 0.379 | ||||
| Smooth margin | 37 (62.7%) | 40 (71.4%) | 6 (37.5%) | 7 (53.8%) | ||
| Non-smooth margin | 22 (37.3%) | 16 (28.6%) | 10 (62.5%) | 6 (46.2%) | ||
| Portal venous invasion | 0.025 | 0.044 | ||||
| Negative | 43 (72.9%) | 50 (89.3%) | 9 (56.2%) | 12 (92.3%) | ||
| Positive | 16 (27.1%) | 6 (10.7%) | 7 (43.8%) | 1 (7.7%) | ||
Unless indicated otherwise, data are shown as number of patients, with the percentage in parentheses; a, t-test; b, Mann–Whitney U-test; others (chi-square test or Fisher exact test). *Data are medians, with interquartile ranges in parentheses. NOR, non-objective response; OR, objective response; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen; AST, aspartate transaminase; ALT, alanine transaminase; NLR, neutrophils/lymphocytes ratio; PLR, platelet/lymphocytes ratio