Table 1 Comparison of baseline characteristics between diabetic patients with or without metformin therapy before TACE for single nodular HCC.

From: Metformin administration is associated with enhanced response to transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma in type 2 diabetes patients

Variables

Before PS matching

After PS matching

Control (n = 73)

Metformin (n = 91)

p value/SMD

Control (n = 47)

Metformin (n = 47)

p value/SMD

Age, years

67 (16)

71 (18)

0.073

− 0.288

67 (16)

71 (18)

0.615

− 0.104

Male gender

57 (78)

71 (78)

0.993

0.001

38 (81)

37 (79)

0.797

0.053

Heavy alcohol consumption

19 (26)

29 (32)

0.414

0.129

15 (31)

16 (33)

0.827

0.045

Comorbidity

Hypertension

27 (37)

27 (30)

0.322

0.156

18 (38)

12 (25)

0.186

0.272

Cardiopulmonary disease**

9 (12)

16 (18)

0.352

0.148

7 (15)

7 (15)

1.000

0.000

CKD

12 (16)

16 (18)

0.847

0.030

8 (17)

6 (13)

0.563

0.118

Viral hepatitis

44 (60)

26 (29)

< 0.001

0.673

20 (44)

22 (49)

0.673

0.089

Liver cirrhosis

61 (84)

77 (85)

0.854

0.029

39 (81)

40 (83)

0.789

0.055

Child–Pugh class (A/B)

55/18

69/22

0.943

0.011

38/10

33/15

0.245

0.239

Child–Pugh score

5/6/7/8/9

38/17/8/5/5

52/17/11/8/3

0.756

0.215

28/10/6/2/2

26/7/6/6/3

0.591

0.347

Other antidiabetic medications and statins

Sulfonylurea

19 (26)

32 (35)

0.209

0.199

15 (31)

15 (31)

1.000

0.000

Alpha glucosidase

15 (21)

13 (14)

0.290

0.166

8 (17)

8 (17)

1.000

0.000

Thiazolidinedione

6 (8)

8 (9)

0.896

0.021

3 (6)

4 (9)

0.694

0.081

DPP-4 inhibitor

5 (7)

25 (27)

0.001

0.569

27 (57)

27 (57)

1.000

0.000

SGLT2i

0 (0)

6 (7)

0.025

0.272

0 (0)

0 (0)

1.000

0.000

Insulin

64 (88)

76(83)

0.454

0.119

41 (87)

41 (87)

1.000

0.000

Statins

12 (16)

24 (26)

0.127

0.244

19 (40)

19 (40)

1.000

0.000

Laboratory data

HbA1C, %

6.8 (1.7)

7.0 (2.1)

0.557

− 0.041

6.6 (1.4)

6.9 (2.0)

0.852

− 0.060

Creatinine (mg/dL)

0.96 (0.37)

0.91 (0.37)

0.351

0.276

1.00 (0.10)

0.93 (0.10)

0.329

0.330

eGFR

73 (33)

79 (33)

0.176

− 0.201

72 (40)

76 (29)

0.351

− 0.139

Platelet, × 103/ul

119 (94)

135 (100)

0.010

− 0.239

130 (108)

135 (118)

0.516

− 0.108

Prothrombin time, INR

1.13 (0.18)

1.08 (0.15)

0.018

0.328/

1.11 (0.16)

1.12 (0.21)

0.553

0.078

Albumin, g/dL

3.6 (0.7)

3.9 (0.7)

0.193

− 0.194

3.7 (0.7)

3.6 (0.9)

0.315

0.184

Total bilirubin, mg/dL

0.9 (0.7)

0.7 (0.5)

0.009

0.284

0.8 (0.5)

0.8 (0.7)

0.770

− 0.054

ALBI grade32 1/2/3

27/43/3

54/34/3

0.006

0.461

22/23/2

22/22/3

0.985

0.097

AFP, ng/ml

7.3 (30.1)

5.0 (23.7)

0.241

− 0.178

5.9 (22.3)

7.5 (84.5)

0.513

− 0.332

Tumor size, cm

2.7 (3.0)

3.3 (3.6)

0.026

− 0.228

3.2 (3.3)

3.3 (4.3)

0.307

− 0.201

BCLC (0/A)

25/48

17/74

0.023

0.358

14/33

10/37

0.344

0.196

DEB-TACE

5 (7)

12 (13)

0.186

0.212

5 (11)

6 (13)

0.748

0.066

Follow-up duration (months)***

22 (44)

13 (28)

0.190

0.293

46 (52)

25 (50)

0.148

0.395

  1. AFP alpha-fetoprotein, ALBI albumin-bilirubin, BCLC Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer, CKD chronic kidney disease, DEB drug-eluting bead, DPP-4 dipeptidyl peptidase-4, HbA1C hemoglobin A1c (glycated), INR international normalized ratio, PS propensity score, RFA radiofrequency ablation, SMD standardized mean difference.
  2. Categorical variables are presented as numbers (%), and tested using chi-square test. Continuous variables are presented as median (interquartile range), and p-values were calculated using Mann–Whitney U test.
  3. *Heavy alcohol consumption was defined as chronic consumption of > 40 g of alcohol per day.
  4. **Coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  5. ***For patients with complete response after TACE.
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