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Wada et al. Hepatoma Res 2018;4:8 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2017.39 Page 7 of 8

cohort was small. Therefore, further prospective studies with a larger number of subjects are required to
confirm our findings.

In conclusion, we show that evaluating PPS in patients with advanced HCC by using time-dependent and
dynamic changes in clinical parameters was extremely useful. Our findings may be useful for selecting
second-line treatment at the time of PD. Furthermore, our data indicate that changes in liver function or
worsening of a patient’s general condition during sorafenib treatment should be observed carefully.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed equally to this work.

Data source and availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding
author on reasonable request.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript.

Patient consent
All patients provided written informed consent for sorafenib treatment.

Ethics approval
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical
Center and performed in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2018.

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