Combination of repeated single-session percutaneous ethanol injection and transarterial chemoembolisation compared to repeated single-session percutaneous ethanol injection in patients with non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Baseline patient characteristics of the four evaluated treatment subgroups

		PEI alone	Sec PEI after bestsupp. care	TACE-PEIcombinat.	Sec PEI, afterTACE	P-value
		(2) n = 34	(4) n = 20	(1) n = 37	(3) n = 10
Child-Pugh	A	14 (41%)1	7 (35%)	18 (49%)	6 (60%)
	B	14 (41%)	10 (50%)	19 (51%)	4 (40%)
	C	6 (18%)	3 (15%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Okuda	1	12 (36%)	2 (10%)	16 (46%)	6 (67%)	0.05
	2	20 (61%)	14 (74%)	16 (46%)	3 (33%)
	3	1 (3%)	3 (16%)	3 (8%)	0 (0%)
Gender	male	27 (80%)	19 (95%)	33 (89%)	7 (70%)	NS
Portal vein thromb	yes	1 (3%)	7 (35%)	9 (26%)	1 (10%)	0.02
Ascites	yes	12 (35%)	13 (65%)	16 (44%)	1 (10%)	0.03
No of tumors	1	4 (12%)	3 (15%)	5 (13%)	2 (20%)	0
	2	8 (23%)	3 (15%)	4 (11%)	1 (10%)
	3	13 (38%)	1 (5%)	2 (6%)	2 (20%)
	4	7 (21%)	0 (0%)	9 (24%)	0 (0%)
	5	2 (6%)	1 (5%)	17 (46%)	1 (10%)
	multiple	0 (0%)	12 (60%)	0 (0%)	4 (40%)
Tumor size	mm	41 (14)2	68 (39)	52 (20)	75 (32)	0
No of PEI	n	2.3 (1.6)	3 (2.8)	2.6 (1.2)	3.3 (2.3)	NS
Weight	kg	75 (12)	75 (10)	77 (16)	78 (18)	NS
AFP	ng/mL	235 (515)	5743 (15 910)	257 (476)	28 (44)	NS
CRP	mg/L	65 (61)	92 (68)	97 (73)	83 (58)	NS
Bilirubin	µmol/L	35 (24)	36 (36)	23 (21)	13 (7)	0.008
CHE	mU/mL	2.8 (1.6)	2.6 (1.4)	3.7 (1.4)	4.6 (1.1)	0.005
LDH	U/L	226 (77)	218 (41)	218 (58)	198 (27)	NS
Protein	g/L	73 (7)	74 (8)	73 (6)	71 (4)	NS
AST	U/L	43 (45)	39 (26)	37 (41)	15 (6)	0.01
ALT	U/L	37 (34)	33 (24)	35 (31)	14 (5)	NS
AP	U/L	204 (98)	254 (125)	212 (108)	320 (412)	NS
G-GT	U/L	105 (75)	107 (75)	153 (172)	123 (203)	NS
Leukocytes	1000/μL	5.6 (2.2)	5.5 (1.4)	6.0 (2.5)	6.3 (1.8)	NS
QUICK	%	75 (18)	79 (13)	85 (18)	88 (21)	NS
Thrombocytes	1000/μL	120 (56)	145 (76)	124 (62)	213 (115)	NS
Creatinine	µmol/L	82 (38)	106 (120)	78 (35)	72 (17)	NS

NS: Not significant,

¹n (%),

² Mean (standard deviation). TACE-PEI combination, PEI alone, secondary PEI after TACE discontinuation, and secondary PEI after best supportive care are displayed. The P-values for comparison of baseline characteristics between these subgroups are shown. CHE: Cholinesterase, AP: Alkaline phosphatase, G-GT: Gamma glutamyl transferase.

Table 2 Multivariate regression model of predictors for longterm survival of three years and more after start of therapy

Predictors	Cut-off	P-value	Odd's ratios	Confidenceinterval
AFP	< 400 ng/mL	NS
Fever	< 38°C	NS
CHE-level at follow up	Change < 1 mU/mL	0.05	6	2.4-10.1
No of tumor lesions	≤ 5	0.01	11.1	3.3-22.3
Child-Pugh	Child A	NS
Ascites	No ascites	0.03	12.2	4.7-30.3
Portal vein thrombosis	No thrombosis	NS
Okuda	Okuda stage 1	NS
Severe complications	No complication	NS
Maximum tumor size	≤ 5 cm	0.04	6.1	1.3-17.5
Type of treatment	TACE-PEI comb (I) vs other groups	0.05	4.3	1.2-14.7

P-values, Odd's ratios and confidence intervalls are shown for all significant variables. R² = 43%.