Efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with microwave ablation for hepatic hemangiomas (> 5 cm)

Table 1 Baseline characteristics, n (%)

Characteristics1	All (n = 82)	Control group (n = 32)	Observation group (n = 50)	P value2
Age (years)	46 (40-54)	47 (41-55)	44 (39-52)	0.122
Longest tumor diameter (cm)	8.4 (5-20)	8.5 (5-20)	8.3 (5-19.2)	0.860
Disease duration (years)	6 (1-13)	7 (2-12)	5 (1-14)	0.668
Sex				0.527
Female	65 (79.27)	27 (84.38)	38 (76.00)
Male	17 (20.73)	5 (15.62)	12 (24.00)
Measurable lesions3				0.993
Single	73 (89.02)	29 (90.62)	44 (88.00)
Multiple	9 (10.98)	3 (9.38)	6 (12.00)
Lesion distribution				0.909
Right lobe	59 (71.95)	24 (75.00)	35 (70.00)
Left lobe	10 (12.20)	3 (9.38)	7 (14.00)
Junction of the right and left lobes	11 (13.41)	4 (12.50)	7 (14.00)
Caudate lobe	2 (2.44)	1 (3.12)	1 (2.00)
Lesion classification4				0.624
Huge	63 (76.83)	26 (81.25)	37 (74.00)
Giant	19 (23.17)	6 (18.75)	13 (26.00)
Symptoms				0.099
Asymptomatic	52 (63.41)	16 (50.00)	36 (72.00)
Abdominal discomfort	27 (32.93)	15 (46.88)	12 (24.00)
Gastrointestinal symptoms	3 (3.66)	1 (3.12)	2 (4.00)
Comorbidities				0.473
No comorbidities	67 (81.71)	25 (78.12)	42 (84.00)
Hypertension	10 (12.20)	5 (15.62)	5 (10.00)
Hyperlipidemia	2 (2.44)	0 (0.00)	2 (4.00)
Diabetes mellitus	2 (2.44)	1 (3.12)	1 (2.00)
SLE	1 (1.22)	1 (3.12)	0 (0.00)
Anxiety status				1.0
No anxiety	75 (91.46)	29 (90.62)	46 (92.00)
Mild anxiety	7 (8.54)	3 (9.38)	4 (8.00)
Reason for treatment				0.128
Enlargement of hemangioma	52 (63.41)	19 (59.38)	33 (66.00)
Symptomatic hemangioma	18 (21.95)	6 (18.75)	12 (24.00)
Anxiety	2 (2.44)	0 (0.00)	2 (4.00)
≥ 2 reasons	10 (12.20)	7 (21.88)	3 (6.00)

¹Continuous variables are expressed as mean ± SD for normally distributed data or median (interquartile range) for non-normally distributed data based on the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality. Categorical variables, including sex and lesion classification, are presented as frequencies (percentages).

²P value was calculated using the independent samples t-test for normally distributed data and the Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed data. The χ² test or Fisher’s exact test was used for categorical variables, and Fisher’s exact test was applied when the expected frequencies were < 5.

³In this study, measurable lesions were defined as lesions with a longest diameter > 5 cm, reflecting a clinically significant disease burden. For patients with multiple hepatic hemangioma lesions (n = 9), we predefined the longest diameter lesion as the “index lesion” for this patient. Each of these 9 patients contained 2 to 3 hemangiomas larger than 5 cm in diameter. Patients with multiple lesions were represented by the index lesion in statistical analyses.

⁴Huge was defined as hemangiomas whose longest tumor diameter ranges from 5 to 10 cm. Giant was defined as hepatic hemangiomas whose longest tumor diameter is > 10 cm.

SLE: Systemic lupus erythematosus.