Overweight with HBV infection limited the efficacy of TACE in hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting the upregulated HMGB1

Highlight 1. High BMI combined with HBV infection has a negative impact on the PFS and OS of HCC patients treated with TACE. 2. Irrespective of TACE, the average HMGB1 in hepatitis and obesity patients was higher than that in normal individuals, which was not upregulated after TACE. 3. Patients without overweight and HBV infection had a low level of serum concentration of HMGB1 before TACE that was upregulated after TACE. Compared to others, these patients have severe changes in HMGB1 in the peripheral blood after treatment, indicating a higher risk of acute liver injury. 4. Upregulated HMGB1 elevated the prognosis after TACE, but obesity and HBV infection resulted in the negative effect by inhibiting HMGB1 expression. 5. For advanced HCC, overweight combined HBV infection, PVTT, multiple lesions, and larger tumor diameter are negative factors for TACE.