Low-dose intermittent interferon-alpha therapy for HCV-related liver cirrhosis after curative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Characteristics of participating patients

	Interferon group	Non-interferon group	P value
No. of patients	16	16
Age in years (range)	68.51 (53-73)	67.51 (58-75)	NS
Gender (Male/Female)	10/6	11/5	NS
Albumin (g/dL)	3.71 (3.0-4.8)	3.71 (3.0-4.5)	NS
Platelet count (× 104/L)	8.01 (4.5-14.2)	8.41 (4.6-14.3)	NS
ICG R-15 (%)	17.31 (6.1-40.8)	18.21 (5-45)	NS
Alanine aminotransferase (IU/L)	591 (35-99)	581 (21-143)	NS
Alpha fetoprotein (ng/mL)	541 (5.3-293.6)	381 (5.0-1217)	NS
Child-Pugh score (A/B)	13/3	13/3	NS
Main tumor size (mm)	151 (10-50)	181 (10-40)	NS
No. of HCC tumors (single/multiple)	9/7	10/6	NS
Stage (I/II/III)	8/3/5	7/5/4	NS
Treatment (medical/surgical)	8/8	9/7	NS
HCV genotype (1/2)	12/4	14/2	NS
Viral loads (low/high)	6/10	5/11	NS

ICG-R15: Indocyanine green retention at 15 min; Low viral loads: HCV RNA < 100 KIU/mL, high viral loads: HCV RNA ≥ 100 KIU/mL.

¹median.