Efficacy of radiofrequency ablation combined with sorafenib for treating liver cancer complicated with portal hypertension and prognostic factors

Table 1 Comparison of the clinical efficacy of the two treatment regimens [n (%)]

Group	CR	PR	NR	PD	Total effective rate
Research group (n = 50)	7 (14.00)	34 (68.00)	6 (12.00)	3 (6.00)	41 (82.00)
Control group (n = 50)	4 (8.00)	24 (48.00)	17 (34.00)	5 (10.00)	28 (56.00)
χ2 value					7.901
P value					0.005

CR: Complete remission; PR: Partial response; NR: No response; PD: Progressed disease.

Table 2 Comparison of liver function and portal venous pressure between the two groups before and after treatment (mean ± SD)

Group	ALT (U/L)		AST (U/L)		Portal venous pressure (cm H2O)
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Research group (n = 50)	40.06 ± 6.15	71.45 ± 9.85a	53.16 ± 6.98	75.90 ± 10.09a	39.71 ± 7.56	28.93 ± 5.98a
Control group (n = 50)	40.99 ± 7.51	89.27 ± 11.26a	51.21 ± 9.32	95.45 ± 9.29a	39.83 ± 5.15	31.51 ± 5.88a
t value	0.676	8.425	1.184	10.076	0.089	2.174
P value	0.501	< 0.001	0.240	<0.001	0.929	0.032

^aP < 0.05 when compared to the same group prior to treatment.

ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase.

Table 3 Comparison of liver cancer marker levels before and after treatment between the two groups (mean ± SD)

Group	AFP (ug/L)		GPC-3 (ng/mL)		AFP-L3 (ng/L)
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Research group (n = 50)	645.88 ± 56.05	463.12 ± 40.45a	11.52 ± 2.88	6.46 ± 1.43a	1751.54 ± 214.99	867.26 ± 153.14a
Control group (n = 50)	655.80 ± 53.69	563.21 ± 41.46a	11.89 ± 2.58	4.84 ± 1.26a	1787.74 ± 177.19	1179.48 ± 175.10a
t value	0.904	12.220	0.665	5.975	0.919	9.491
P value	0.368	< 0.001	0.508	< 0.001	0.360	< 0.001

^aP < 0.05 when compared to the same group prior to treatment.

AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; GPC-3: Glypican-3.

Table 4 Comparison of adverse reactions between the two groups [n (%)]

Group	Diaphragm injury	Diarrhea	Rash	Portal vein and biliary tract injury	Gastrointestinal bleeding	Nausea and vomiting	Fatigue
Research group (n = 50)	3 (6.00)	14 (28.00)	20 (40.00)	13 (26.00)	5 (10.00)	9 (18.00)	33 (66.00)
Control group (n = 50)	1 (2.00)	2 (4.00)	2 (4.00)	10 (20.00)	3 (6.00)	1 (2.00)	10 (20.00)
χ2 value	1.042	10.714	18.881	0.508	0.543	7.111	21.583
P value	0.307	0.001	< 0.001	0.476	0.461	0.008	< 0.001

Table 5 Comparison of 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates between the two groups

Group	1-yr survival rate		2-yr survival rate		3-yr survival rate
	Number of cases	Survival rate (%)	Number of cases	Survival rate (%)	Number of cases	Survival rate (%)
Research group (n = 50)	47	94.00	42	84.00	36	72.00
Control group (n = 50)	40	80.00	32	64.00	20	40.00
Log-χ2 value	4.465		5.337		9.223
P value	0.035		0.021		0.002

Table 6 Univariate analysis of the survival group and death group [n (%)]

Item	Survival group (n = 56)	Death group (n = 44)	χ2 value	P value
Age
≤ 60 yr	43 (76.79)	29 (65.91)	1.446	0.229
> 60 yr	13 (23.21)	15 (34.09)
Child-Pugh grade
Grade A	45 (80.36)	23 (52.27)	8.931	0.003
Grade B	11 (19.64)	21 (47.73)
History of hepatitis
Yes	18 (32.14)	29 (65.91)	11.278	0.001
None	38 (67.86)	15(34.09)
Number of tumors
1	35 (62.50)	15 (34.09)	8.266	0.016
2	16 (28.57)	20 (45.45)
3	5 (8.93)	9 (20.45)
Tumor size (cm)
< 6	49 (87.50)	15 (34.09)	30.506	<0.001
6-10	7 (12.50)	29 (65.91)
Use of sorafenib
Yes	36 (64.29)	14 (31.82)	10.390	0.001
No	20 (35.71)	30 (68.18)
Stage of liver cancer
IIIB	47 (83.93)	20 (45.45)	16.496	< 0.001
IIIC	9 (16.07)	24 (54.55)
Histological differentiation
High	28 (50.00)	14 (31.82)	6.810	0.033
Low-moderate	18 (32.14)	12 (27.27)
Necrosis	10 (17.86)	18 (40.91)
Previous splenectomy
Yes	18 (32.14)	30 (68.18)	12.822	< 0.001
None	38 (67.86)	14 (31.82)

Table 7 Logistic multivariate regression analysis of poor prognosis in patients with liver cancer complicated with portal hypertension

Item	β	SE	Wald	P value	Exp (B)	95%CI
High Child-Pugh grade	1.470	0.738	3.970	0.046	4.349	1.024-18.469
History of hepatitis	2.286	0.803	8.098	0.004	9.833	2.037-47.463
Tumor size (6-10 cm)	2.399	0.788	9.268	0.002	11.008	2.350-51.567
No use of sorafenib	2.483	0.829	8.963	0.003	11.981	2.357-60.884
Liver cancer of stage IIIC	1.900	0.719	6.988	0.008	6.683	1.634-27.329
Previous splenectomy	1.629	0.741	4.835	0.028	5.101	1.194-21.800
Constant	6.685	1.486	20.226	< 0.001	0.001