Comparative prognostic performance of staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma: Evidence from a Vietnamese cohort study

Table 1 Patient characteristics and tumor profiles in our cohort grouped by hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus status

Feature of interest	Study population, n = 987	HBV-HCV infection status				Intergroup statistical significance
		HBV, n = 446, 45.2%	HCV, n = 308, 31.2%	Non-B-non-C, n = 213, 21.6%	Co-infected HBV + HCV, n = 20, 2.0%
Demographic features
Male sex, n (%)	789 (79.9)	368 (82)	246 (80)	161 (76)	15 (75)	NS (χ²)
Age in years, mean	62.28 ± 11.05	59.10 ± 11.21	65.11 ± 8.77	64.91 ± 11.85	61.40 ± 11.95	< 0.001 (A)
Clinical features
Size of tumor in cm (IQR)	4.8 (2.8-8.2)	5.0 (2.8-8.8)	4.0 (2.6-6.85)	6.0 (3.0-10.0)	3.85 (2.5-6.65)	< 0.001 (K-W)
Number of tumors, n (%)						NS (χ²)
1	584 (59.2)	261 (58.5)	177 (57.5)	134 (62.9)	12 (60.0)
2	151 (15.3)	69 (15.5)	56 (18.2)	24 (11.3)	2 (10.0)
≥ 3	252 (25.5)	116 (26.0)	75 (24.4)	55 (25.8)	6 (30.0)
Solidity, n (%)						NS (χ²)
Infiltrative	67 (6.8)	30 (6.7)	17 (5.5)	20 (9.4)	0 (0.0)
Solid	920 (93.2)	416 (93.3)	291 (94.5)	193 (90.6)	20 (100.0)
Intrahepatic vascular invasion, n (%)	17 (1.7)	5 (1.1)	7 (2.3)	4 (1.9)	1 (5.0)	NS (χ²)
Portal thrombosis, n (%)	156 (15.8)	53 (11.9)	50 (16.2)	50 (23.5)	3 (15.0)	0.002 (χ²)
Metastasis, n (%)						NS (χ²)
No metastasis	893 (90.5)	401 (89.9)	283 (91.9)	190 (89.2)	19 (95.0)
Lymph nodes	70 (7.1)	35 (7.8)	22 (7.1)	12 (5.6)	1 (5.0)
Lung	10 (1.0)	5 (1.1)	1 (0.3)	4 (1.9)	0 (0.0)
Lymph nodes + Lung	2 (0.2)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	2 (0.9)	0 (0.0)
Other sites	12 (1.2)	5 (1.1)	2 (0.6)	5 (2.3)	0 (0.0)
Ascites, n (%)	216 (21.9)	91 (20.4)	61 (19.8)	60 (28.2)	4 (20.0)	NS (χ²)
Cirrhosis, n (%)	612 (62.0)	253 (56.7)	208 (67.5)	136 (63.8)	15 (75.0)	0.012 (χ²)
Tumor rupture, n (%)	55 (5.6)	26 (5.8)	14 (4.5)	15 (7.0)	0 (0.0)	NS (χ²)
ECOG performance status, n (%)						0.001 (χ²)
0: Normal activity	655 (66.4)	311 (69.7)	214 (69.5)	118 (55.4)	12 (60.0)
1: Mildly restricted	271 (27.5)	114 (25.6)	69 (22.4)	80 (37.6)	8 (40.0)
≥ 2: Significantly restricted	61 (6.2)	21 (4.7)	25 (8.1)	15 (7.0)	0 (0.0)
Laboratory examinations
AFP in ng/mL	27.7 (5.9-767.3)	36.55 (5.9-1000.0)	27.45 (6.8-334.0)	16.50 (4.3-471.8)	65.70 (12.95-902.65)	0.049 (K-W)
PT as %	79.54 ± 16.16	79.98 ± 15.80	79.82 ± 16.18	78.59 ± 16.82	75.69 ± 17.09	NS (A)
INR	1.11 (1.00-1.23)	1.11 (1.00-1.23)	1.11 (1.00-1.24)	1.09 (1.00-1.23)	1.13 (1.01-1.27)	NS (K-W)
AST in U/L	58.5 (38.0-105.0)	56.85 (38.6-99.0)	68.2 (36.75-107.25)	52.0 (35.4-101.0)	77.15 (41.2-141.0)	NS (K-W)
ALT in U/L	44.7 (28.0-74.1)	44.35 (29.2-66.9)	46.5 (27.7-88.95)	40.0 (25.3-70.0)	55.65 (35.75-86.25)	NS (K-W)
Albumin in g/L	36.53 ± 6.52	37.15 ± 6.28	36.23 ± 6.73	35.60 ± 6.68	37.45 ± 5.45	0.024 (A)
Total bilirubin in μmol/L	16.0 (11.5-23.7)	14.9 (11.3-22.2)	17.15 (12.0-25.15)	16.2 (11.0-24.5)	17.3 (13.75-24.05)	NS (K-W)
Creatinine in μmol/L	90.03 ± 26.91	87.21 ± 21.92	89.65 ± 26.03	96.73 ± 35.84	87.25 ± 18.41	< 0.001 (A)
Platelet as 109/L1	186.18 ± 95.99	192.72 ± 96.99	159.71 ± 75.65	213.90 ± 109.61	152.70 ± 95.51	< 0.001 (A)
Treatment
First choice of treatment, n (%)						< 0.001 (χ²)
RFA/WMA	102 (10.3)	42 (9.4)	39 (12.7)	17 (8.0)	4 (20.0)
Surgery	123 (12.5)	70 (15.7)	34 (11.0)	19 (8.9)	0 (0.0)
TACE	458 (46.4)	218 (48.9)	153 (49.7)	76 (35.7)	11 (55.0)
Chemotherapy	50 (5.1)	22 (4.9)	10 (3.2)	18 (8.5)	0 (0.0)
Palliative Care	254 (25.7)	94 (21.1)	72 (23.4)	83 (39.0)	5 (25.0)
Prognosis
Survival status, n (%)						0.02 (χ²)
Alive	731 (74.1)	346 (77.6)	230 (74.7)	142 (66.7)	13 (65.0)
Deceased	256 (25.9)	100 (22.4)	78 (25.3)	71 (33.3)	7 (35.0)
Survival time, month	15 (4-35)	15 (4-36)	21.5 (7-40)	9 (1.5-22)	18.5 (6.5-44)	< 0.001 (K-W)

¹Among the 987 patients, with platelet values missing for 21 cases (2.1%).

HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ECOG: Eastern cooperative oncology group; INR: International normalized ratio; IQR: Interquartile range; NS: Not significant; PT: Prothrombin time; RFA: Radio frequency ablation; TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization; WMA: Warm microwave ablation; A: ANOVA test; K-W: Kruskal Wallis test.