Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the 233 patients who received radiofrequency ablation as the first-line option for hepatocellular carcinoma
Variable | Periportal HCC(n = 56) | Nonperiportal HCC (n = 177) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
Age (years) | 59.4 ± 11.8 (37 ~ 85) | 59.5 ± 9.9 (33 ~ 88) | 0.966 |
Sex, n (%) | Â | ||
 Male | 43 (76.8%) | 145 (81.9%) | |
 Female | 13 (23.2%) | 32 (18.1%) | |
Tumor size (cm) | 0.190 | ||
 Mean ± standard deviation | 2.9 ± 1.1 (0.9–5.0) | 2.6 ± 1.1 (0.8–5.0) | |
  ≤ 3.0 cm | 35 (62.5%) | 127 (71.8%) | |
 3.1–5.0 cm | 21 (37.5%) | 50 (28.2%) | |
Types of electrode needles | 0.107 | ||
 2-cm expandable electrode | 31 (55.4%) | 119 (67.2%) | |
 3-cm expandable electrode | 25 (44.6%) | 58 (32.8%) | |
Cirrhosis | 0.579 | ||
 Yes | 39 (69.6%) | 130 (73.4%) | |
 No | 17 (30.4%) | 47 (26.6%) | |
Etiology of tumor | 0.823 | ||
 Hepatitis B virus | 44 (78.6%) | 135 (76.3%) | |
 Hepatitis C virus | 6 (10.7%) | 15 (8.5%) | |
 Other | 2 (3.6%) | 10 (5.6%) | |
 No | 4 (7.1%) | 17 (9.6%) | |
Child–Pugh classification | 0.700 | ||
 A | 49 (87.5%) | 164 (92.7%) | |
 B | 7 (12.5%) | 13 (7.3%) | |
Serum AFP (ng/ml) | 0.38 | ||
 Mean ± standard deviation | 264.7 ± 517.1 (1.82 ~ 2449.3) | 229.6 ± 991.7 | |
  ≤ 20 | 34 (60.7%) | (1.10 ~ 9346.9) | |
 >20 and<400 | 12 (21.4%) | 106 (59.9%) | |
  ≥ 400 | 10 (17.9%) | 50 (28.2%) | |
21 (11.9%) | |||
TACE before RFA | 0.821 | ||
 Yes | 37 (66.1%) | 114 (64.4%) | |
 No | 19 (33.9%) | 63 (35.6%) | |