Hepatic resection vs percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma abutting right diaphragm

Table 1 Baseline patient characteristics

Variable	Hepatic resection (n = 80)	RF ablation (n = 63)	P value
Mean age (yr)	53.5 ± 9.0	60.3 ± 8.7	< 0.001
Male sex	62 (78)	49 (78)	0.968
Etiology			0.042
HBV	68 (85)	43 (68)
HCV	6 (8)	13 (20)
NBNC	6 (8)	7 (11)
Liver cirrhosis	50 (63)	50 (79)	0.029
Tumor size	2.1 ± 0.6	2.1 ± 0.5	0.906
α-fetoprotein (ng/mL)	200 ± 489	72 ± 165	0.031
Platelet count (× 103/mm3)	148 ± 49	107 ± 49	< 0.001
Alanine aminotransferase (IU/L)	41 ± 21	40 ± 30	0.849
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	0.7 ± 0.3	0.7 ± 0.4	0.99
Albumin (g/dL)	4.2 ± 0.4	3.9 ± 0.4	< 0.001
Prothrombin time (INR)	1.1 ± 0.1	1.2 ± 0.1	< 0.001

Continuous data were evaluated using two-sample t tests and categorical variables were analyzed using Chi-square tests. Data represent the number of patients with percentage in parentheses or the mean ± SD. RF: Radiofrequency; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; NBNC: Non-B non-C; INR: International normalized ratio.

Table 2 Univariate and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors for overall survival

Variable	Univariate analysis		Multivariate analysis
	HR	P value	HR	P value
Group (RF ablation)	0.364 (0.179, 0.742)	0.005	0.676 (0.309, 1.482)	0.329
Age	1.025 (0.988, 1.063)	0.187
Sex (female)	0.975 (0.439, 2.165)	0.95
Etiology (hepatitis B virus)1		0.028		0.176
Hepatitis C virus	3.053 (1.240, 7.516)	0.01	2.180 (0.854, 5.566)	0.124
NBNC	2.292 (0.671, 7.831)	0.26	2.433 (0.686, 8.636)	0.232
Liver cirrhosis (absence)	1.834 (0.756, 4.446)	0.18
Tumor size	1.505 (0.782, 2.899)	0.221
α-fetoprotein	1.000 (1.000, 1.001)	0.345
Platelet count	0.989 (0.982, 0.996)	0.003	0.991 (0.982, 1.000)	0.051
Alanine aminotransferase	1.006 (0.993, 1.019)	0.36
Total bilirubin	1.031 (0.393, 2.704)	0.951
Albumin	0.327 (0.148, 0.727)	0.006	0.485 (0.189, 1.244)	0.132
Prothrombin time (INR)	19.351 (1.354, 1798.539)	0.034	0.325 (0.002, 46.731)	0.657

The Cox proportional hazards model was used for univariate and multivariate analysis. The reference category for each categorical variable is provided in the square brackets in the first column.

¹Bonferroni correction was used owing to multiple comparisons. Numbers in parentheses represent the 95%CI. HR: Hazard ratio; RF: Radiofrequency; NBNC: Non-B non-C; INR: International normalized ratio.

Table 3 Univariate and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors for disease-free survival

Variable	Univariate analysis		Multivariate analysis
	HR	P value	HR	P value
Group (RF ablation)	0.272 (0.174, 0.427)	< 0.001	0.352 (0.205, 0.605)	< 0.001
Age	1.036 (1.012, 1.060)	0.003	1.015 (0.987, 1.043)	0.306
Sex (female)	1.096 (0.650, 1.847)	0.732
Etiology (hepatitis B virus) 1		0.726
Hepatitis C virus	1.507 (0.789, 2.878)	0.31
NBNC	1.121 (0.483, 2.601)	1
Liver cirrhosis (absence)	1.526 (0.916, 2.544)	0.105
Tumor size	0.976 (0.658, 1.448)	0.904
α-fetoprotein	1.000 (0.999, 1.000)	0.391
Platelet count	0.991 (0.987, 0.995)	< 0.001	0.998 (0.993, 1.004)	0.542
Alanine aminotransferase	1.008 (1.000, 1.017)	0.045	1.011 (1.003, 1.020)	0.006
Total bilirubin	0.995 (0.540, 1.833)	0.988
Albumin	0.281 (0.168, 0.470)	< 0.001	0.481 (0.269, 0.860)	0.014
Prothrombin time (INR)	147.887 (13.992, 1563.115)	< 0.001	4.212 (0.195, 90.886)	0.359

The Cox proportional hazards model was used for univariate and multivariate analysis. The reference category for each categorical variable is in the square brackets in first column. ¹Bonferroni correction was used owing to multiple comparisons. Numbers in parentheses represent the 95%CI. HR: Hazard ratio; RF: Radiofrequency; NBNC: Non-B non-C; INR: International normalized ratio.