Treatment of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Failure of Sorafenib Treatment: Subsequent or Additional Treatment Interventions Contribute to Prolonged Survival Postprogression

Table 2

Patient characteristics of five groups classified according to treatment patterns after radiological progression of sorafenib treatment.

	Group 1 ()	Group 2 ()	Group 3 ()	Group 4 ()	Group 5 ()	value
Sex (male/female)	10/5	7/2	15/4	10/4	12/2	0.793
Median age	74 (63–85)	72 (60–88)	72 (54–83)	74 (48–88)	79 (59–85)	0.324
Child-Pugh class (A/B)	14/1	9/0	16/2	10/4	10/4	0.178
BCLC stage (B/C)	11/4	6/3	11/8	6/8	7/7	0.500
AST (U/L)	40 (17–135)	42 (14–98)	77 (22–268)	65.5 (17–99)	67.5 (29–144)	0.042
ALT (U/L)	23 (10–119)	30 (9–83)	55 (15–93)	38.5 (15–94)	41.5 (14–63)	0.517
Albumin (g/dL)	3.7 (3.3-4.7)	4.0 (3.0–4.9)	3.6 (2.8–4.4)	3.5 (2.8–4.2)	3.4 (2.4–4.5)	0.017
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	1.0 (0.5–2.2)	0.7 (0.6–0.9)	1.0 (0.5–1.7)	1.0 (0.5–2.6)	1.1 (0.6–2.1)	0.173
AFP (ng/mL)	33 (2–29,389)	129 (2–5967)	293.5 (4–55,298)	197.5 (5–14,634)	865.5 (4–589,420)	0.102
DCP (mAU/mL)	194 (22–5032)	140 (39–24,975)	1271 (21–325,960)	260 (47–19,584)	963.5 (19–366,930)	0.248
Best overall response
PR+SD/PD	9/6	5/4	7/12	4/10	2/12	0.091
Progression of MVI (yes/no)	2/13	1/8	5/14	1/13	8/6	0.015
Intrahepatic growth (yes/no)	11/4	5/4	13/6	7/7	4/10	0.644
Extrahepatic growth (yes/no)	1/14	2/7	2/17	5/9	3/11	0.280
New intrahepatic lesion (yes/no)	7/8	3/6	5/14	3/11	5/9	0.641
New extrahepatic lesion (yes/no)	0/15	0/9	2/17	3/11	1/13	0.667
Treatment duration before PD
≥3/<3 months	10/5	4/5	7/12	8/6	2/12	0.071

The patients were stratified into five groups according to treatment course after radiological progression as follows: group 1—subsequent second-line treatment options following sorafenib continuation; group 2—additional treatment options with sorafenib continuation; group 3—subsequent second-line treatment options; group 4—best supportive care following sorafenib continuation; group 5—best supportive care. BCLC: Barcelona clinic liver cancer; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; AFP: alpha-fetoprotein; DCP: des-gamma carboxy-prothrombin; PR: partial response; SD: stable disease; PD: progressive disease. Intrahepatic growth: intrahepatic increase of more than 20% of the target lesion in a previously documented lesion or the progression of a nontarget lesion; extrahepatic growth: extrahepatic increase of more than 20% of the target lesion in a previously documented lesion or the progression of a nontarget lesion; progression of MVI: appearance or extension of macrovascular invasion.