“Six-and-twelve” score for outcome prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma following transarterial chemoembolization. In-depth analysis from a multicenter French cohort

Table 2 Baseline characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing transarterial chemoembolization treatment, n (%)

Demographic variables	Marseille/Nancy cohort, n = 324	Marseille cohort1, n = 252
Age - Median [Q1-Q3], year	68 [62-74]	68 [60-73]
Gender Male/female	276 (85)/48 (15)	214 (85)/38 (15)
Liver disease HCV/HBV/Alcoholism/MS/other	129 (40)/14 (4)/122 (38)/42 (13)/17 (5)	109 (43)/12 (5)/84 (33)/37 (15)/10 (4)
ECOG (PS-0)	324 (100)	252 (100)
Cirrhosis	311 (96)	243 (96)
Tumor variables:
Tumor Size – mm - median [q1-q3]	35 [25-50]	32 [25-44]
Nodule (s): 1/2/3/4/≥ 5	95 (29)/72 (22)/80 (25)/38 (12)/39 (12)	83 (33)/67 (27)/34 (13)/31 (12)/37 (15)
Laboratory variables
AFP – ng/mL, median [q1-q3]	16.3 [6.0-120.3]	11.2 [5.0-77.7]
PT (%), median [q1-q3]	76 [64-88]	78 [68-88]
Albumin (g/L), median [q1-q3]	35 [28-38]	36.6 [32.7-41.0]
Total bilirubin (mcmol/L), median [q1-q3]	19.0 [13.7-28.7]	17 [11-27]
Child - Pugh grade A/B7	249 (77)/75 (23)	180 (71)/72 (29)
ALBI1 class	64 (20)/230 (71)/30 (9)	37 (15)/175 (73)/29 (12)
BCLC1 stage A/B	145 (45%)/179 (55%)	134 (56)/107 (44)
“6&12”1 score allocation n ≤ 6/> 6 - ≤ 12/> 12	154 (48)/163 (50)/7 (2)	130 (54)/106 (44)/5 (2)
NIACE score allocation ≤ 1/1.5 - 3/> 3	168 (52)/134 (41)/22 (7)
CLIP1 score allocation 0/1/2/≥ 3	-	55 (23)/135 (56)/45 (19)/ 6 (2)
MESH1 score allocation 0/1/2/3/4	-	41 (17)/77 (32)/78 (32)/37 (15)/8 (4)
Up-to-Seven model1 (In/Out)	-	176 (73)/65 (27)
HKLC1 stage 1/2a/2b/3a/3b	-	89 (37)/43 (17)/65 (27)/24 (10)/21 (9)

¹Available data for 241 patients for staging and scores calculation. The Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) score was calculated according to the . ALBI grades were defined as ALBI grade 1 (score ≤ -2.60), ALBI grade 2 (score > - 2.60 and ≤ - 1.39) and ALBI grade 3 (score > - 1.39). Bilirubin level in mcmol/L and albumin level in g/L; Up-to-seven criteria: With seven as the sum of the largest tumor size (in cm) + number of tumor(s). Barcelona Clinic Liver cancer (BCLC) classification: Current (BCLC) staging considers solitary tumor > 2 cm or no more than 3 tumors not exceeding 3 cm in diameter (Performance Status-0, Child-Pugh (CP) class A or B7 grade) as stage A. No tumor was classified at the very early stage of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (BCLC 0) in this multicenter French cohort. BCLC stage B HCC encompassed patients with multiple tumors beyond 3 cm, PS-0, CP A or B7 grade. Hong Kong Liver Cancer classification: Early tumor: ≤ 5 cm, ≤ 3 tumor nodules; CP grade A (stage 1), CP grade B (stage 2a), -Intermediate tumor: ≤ 5 cm and > 3 tumor nodules or > 5 cm and ≤ 3 tumor nodules, CP grade A (stage 2b), CP grade B (stage 3a), - Locally-advanced tumor: > 5 cm, > 3 tumor nodules, CP grade A or B (stage 3b). HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; MS: Metabolic syndrome; ECOG (PS): Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (Performance Status); AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; PT: Prothrombin Time; ALBI: Albumin-Bilirubin; BCLC: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; “6&12”: “Six-and-twelve”; NIACE: Tumor nodularity, infiltrative nature of the tumor, AFP, CP, PS; CLIP: Cancer of the Liver Italian Program; MESH: Model to Estimate Survival for Hepatocellular carcinoma; HKLC: Hong Kong Liver Cancer.