diagnostics Article The Prognostic Correlation of Heart Rate Variability at Diagnosis with Survival of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma 1,† 2, 1,† 1 Ana-Maria Ciurea , Dan Ionut, Gheonea *, Michael Schenker , Alina Maria Mehedint, eanu , Georgică Costinel Târtea 3,4,* and Cristin Constantin Vere 2 1 Department of Oncology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
[email protected] (A.-M.C.);
[email protected] (M.S.);
[email protected] (A.M.M.) 2 Department of Gastroenterology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
[email protected] 3 Department of Physiology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania 4 Department of Cardiology, Emergency County Hospital of Craiova, 200642 Craiova, Romania * Correspondence:
[email protected] (D.I.G.);
[email protected] (G.C.T.); Tel.: +4-0351-443-500 (D.I.G.) † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) indices have been shown to be associated with prognosis in various types of cancer. This study aims to assess the ability of these indices to predict survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after diagnosis. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 231 patients diagnosed with HCC between January 2014 and March 2018. The baseline clinical-pathological variables and HRV indices (extracted from Holter electrocardiogram recordings) were analyzed. Results: Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the predictive value of the above factors for overall survival (OS). The univariate analysis revealed Citation: Ciurea, A.-M.; Gheonea, that an age > 60 years, hepatitis C, portal vein involvement (thrombosis), a tumor size > 5 cm, D.I.; Schenker, M.; Mehedint,eanu, A.M.; Târtea, G.C.; Vere, C.C.