In the Cox regression analysis, after adjustment for age, ALT, AST, hemoglobin, platelet, lymphocytes, neutrophils, tumor size, gender, HBV infection, AFP level, TACE session, tumor number, portal invasion, extrahepatic metastases, cirrhosis, Child-Pugh score, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology (ECOG), TACE-A did not increase the mortality risk (HR: 0.908, 95%CI: 0.620–1.330, P=0.620) or tumor recurrence risk (HR: 0.906, 95%CI: 0.634–1.295, P=0.589) compared to TACE-S before PSM (Table 2). Here, AFP is linked to Cirrhosis.