Drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization as neoadjuvant therapy pre-liver transplantation for advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 4 Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model for recurrence-free survival and overall survival

Variable	Univariate analysis				Multivariate analysis
	Total, n	HR	95%CI	P value	HR	95%CI	P value
RFS
Pre-LT DEB-TACE as yes/no	45/54	2.62	1.41-4.89	0.002	2.73	1.44-5.14	0.002
Child-Pugh classification
A	83	Reference	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
B	12	2.03	0.98-4.23	0.056	N/A	N/A	N/A
C	4	1.52	0.36-6.35	0.559	N/A	N/A	N/A
Macrovascular invasion as yes/no	31/68	1.74	0.98-3.09	0.056	N/A	N/A	N/A
Overall diameter of target (tumors in cm for ≤ 7 cm/> 7 cm)	46/53	2.55	1.38-4.69	0.003	1.98	1.05-3.75	0.035
AFP of ≤ 400 ng/mL/> 400 ng/mL)	74/25	2.34	1.30-4.19	0.004	2.27	1.23-4.21	0.009
Tumor differentiation
Well differentiated	3	Reference	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Moderately differentiated	71	1.42	0.19-10.45	0.726	N/A	N/A	N/A
Undifferentiated	25	2.27	0.30-17.13	0.426	N/A	N/A	N/A
OS
Pre-LT DEB-TACE as yes/no	45/54	3.33	1.51-7.34	0.003	3.15	1.43-6.96	0.004
Child-Pugh classification
A	83	Reference	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
B	12	2.46	1.06-5.68	0.035	N/A	N/A	N/A
C	4	1.81	0.42-7.66	0.41	N/A	N/A	N/A
Macrovascular invasion as yes/no	31/68	1.25	0.62-2.48	0.524	N/A	N/A	N/A
Overall diameter of target (tumors in cm of ≤ 7 cm/> 7 cm)	46/53	2.09	1.02-4.28	0.042	N/A	N/A	N/A
AFP of ≤ 400 ng/mL/> 400 ng/mL	74/25	1.68	0.83-3.39	0.145	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tumor differentiation
Well differentiated	3	Reference	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Moderately differentiated	71	N/A	NA1	0.922	N/A	N/A	N/A
Undifferentiated	25	N/A	NA1	0.920	N/A	N/A	N/A

¹Heart rate calculation and inclusion of the covariate in univariate analysis was not applicable due to the lack of hepatocellular carcinoma deaths in the well-differentiated group.

RFS: Recurrence-free survival; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; DEB-TACE: Drug-eluting bead transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; HR: Hazard ratio; LT: Liver transplantation; N/A: Not applicable; OS: Overall survival; NA: Not available.