Postoperative outcomes and recurrence patterns of intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma dictated by the sum of tumor size and number

Table 1 Characteristics of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage A or B multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma, n (%)

Variables	Total (n = 143)	BCLC-A (n = 25)	BCLC-B (n = 118)	P value
Male gender	134 (93.7)	25 (100)	109 (92.4)	0.330
Age (yr)	52.1 ± 12.7	50.5 ± 14.5	52.4 ± 12.4	0.490
BMI	22.97 ± 3.15	23.05 ± 3.35	22.96 ± 3.12	0.895
HBs-Ag positive	131 (91.6)	24 (96)	107 (90.7)	0.635
Albumin (g/L)	38.89 ± 4.51	39.95 ± 5.15	38.65 ± 4.34	0.194
Bilirubin (μmol/L)	13.8 (9.9, 18)	12.9 (10.2, 20.9)	13.9 (9.7, 17.8)	0.568
ALBI grade				0.680
1	69 (48.3)	13 (52)	56 (47.5)
2/3	74 (51.7)	12/0 (48/0)	62/0 (52.5/0)
AFP (μg/L)	239 (13, 2338)	74 (6, 390)	483 (16, 2944)	0.011
Maximum tumor size (cm)	5.6 (3.4, 7.6)	2.5 (2.1, 2.9)	6.2 (4.1, 8.4)	< 0.001
Tumor number				0.460
≤ 3	136 (95.1)	25 (100)	111 (94.1)
> 3	7 (4.9)	0	7 (5.9)
Tumor distribution				0.506
Unilateral	83 (58)	16 (64)	67 (56.8)
Bilateral	60 (42)	9 (36)	51 (43.2)
Presence of microvascular invasion	15 (10.5)	1 (4)	14 (11.9)	0.420
Edmondson-Steiner grade				0.337
I-II	85 (59.4)	17 (68)	68 (57.6)
III-IV	58 (40.6)	8 (32)	50 (42.4)
Major resection	64 (44.8)	4 (16)	60 (50.8)	0.001
Anatomical hepatectomy	22 (15.4)	4 (16)	18 (15.3)	1.000
Preoperative TACE				0.690
No	121 (84.6)	20 (80)	101 (85.6)
Yes	22 (15.4)	5 (20)	17 (14.4)

BMI: Body mass index; HBs-Ag: Hepatitis B surface antigen; ALBI: Albumin-bilirubin; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; IQR: Interquartile range; TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization.