Tumour seeding after percutaneous cryoablation for hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients n (%)

Baseline characteristics	Value
Age (yr)1	55.9 ± 9.2
Sex
Male	1176 (81.9)
Female	260 (18.1)
Aetiology
HBs-Ag positive only	1229 (85.6)
HCV-Ab positive only	168 (11.7)
Both positive	19 (1.3)
Both negative	20 (1.4)
Child-Pugh score
Class A	874 (60.9)
Class B	562 (39.1)
Tumour size (cm)
≤ 3	411 (28.6)
3-5	656 (45.7)
≥ 5	369 (25.7)
Tumour number
Single	1213 (84.5)
2-3	223 (15.5)
Tumour location
Subcapsular	484 (33.7)
No subcapsular	952 (66.3)
Route of needle insertion
Direct subcapsular insertion	213 (14.8)
Deep	1223 (85.2)
BCLC staging
Stage A	787 (54.8)
Stage B	453 (31.5)
Stage C	196 (13.7)
Completed ablation
Yes	1168 (81.3)
No	268 (18.7)
Tumour differentiation2
Well or moderate	490 (66.6)
Poorly	246 (33.4)
Biopsy performed prior to cryoablation2	736 (51.3)
Number of sessions
Single	336 (23.4)
2	743 (51.7)
> 2	357 (24.9)
AFP (ng/mL)1	575 ± 2039

¹Values are expressed as mean ± SD, n = 1436;

²Of 736 cases in which biopsy was performed. HBs-Ag: Hepatitis B surface antigen; HCV-Ab: Hepatitis C virus antibody; BCLC: The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer classification; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein.