Table 1 Patient characteristics and clinical course in each group

Gender (M/F)

14:14

11:5

6:7

6:4

Age (years)

66 (47–82)

63 (41–85)

69 (42–78)

63 (55–75)

PS 0/1 vs 2

26:2

16:0

12:1

8:2

Location (Pbt/Ph)

11:17 (39)

6:10 (38)

10:3 (77)

6:4 (60)

Tumor size (mm)

41 (23–76)

41 (27–91)

47 (21–88)

37 (28–85)

Size > 39.5 vs low

15:13

9:7

9:4

3:7

DM (yes/no)

5:23

3:13

5:8

4:6

Obstructive jaundice (yes/no)

15:13

7:9

4:9

5:5

Bilirubin (mg/dl)

0.8 (0.3–10)

0.7 (0.4–2.8)

0.6 (0.4–1.3)

0.9 (0.5–1.8)

Albumin (g/l)

3.6 (2.3–4.5)

3.8 (2.9–4.6)

4.0 (2.7–4.6)

4.0 (3.3–4.7)

Hemoglobin (g/dl)

11.7 (8–14.7)

11.9 (10.5–14.9)

12.4 (10.2–14.8)

13.3 (11–14.9)

CA19-9 (IU/l)

232 (1–3978)

371 (18–13,400)

385 (6–18,977)

997 (66–34,408)

CTx vs BSC

23:5

16:0

9:4

9:1

Duration of CTx (months)

7.5 (0–64)

10 (1.5–53)

3 (0–10)

6 (0–17)

GS (yes/no)

12:16

7:9

2:11

3:7

Radiation (yes/no)

15:13

5:11

0:13

0:10

Second-line chemotherapy (yes/no)

18:10

10:6

1:12

7:3

CR/PR vs SD/PD

9:19

6:10

2:11

2:8

1-year survival rate

50 %

63 %

31 %

20 %

Adjuvant surgery

1/28

2/16

0

0

Development of ascites within 1 year

10/28 (36 %)

7/16 (44 %)

11/13 (85 %)

5/10 (50 %)