Table 2. FGFR4 protein expression and clinical/pathological variables.
| FGFR4 expression | Yes (%) | No (%) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients n=137 | n=61 (45) | n=76 (55) | |
| Median age (years) | 70 | 62 | |
| Age at diagnosis (years) | |||
| ⩽55 | 14 (23) | 25 (33) | NS |
| >55 | 47 (77) | 51 (67) | |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 33 (24) | 42 (31) | NS |
| Female | 28 (20) | 34 (25) | |
| Localisation of tumour | |||
| Extremities | 29 (21) | 55 (40) | NS |
| Trunk, head/neck | 27 (20) | 26 (19) | |
| Staining intensity | |||
| Minimal | 6 (10) | NS | |
| Intermediate | 51 (83) | ||
| Strong | 4 (7) | ||
| Positively stained cells per tumour | |||
| 1–9% | 10 (16) | NS | |
| 10–49% | 21 (34) | ||
| 50–99% | 10 (16) | ||
| 100% | 20 (34) | ||
| Microvessel density (n=137) | |||
| Low | 24 (18) | 57 (42) | 0.001 |
| Medium | 21 (15) | 12 (9) | |
| High | 15 (11) | 8 (6) | |
| CD-31 (meana; n=17) | 44 | 28 | |
| Ki-67 (meanb; n=17) | 24 | 14.5 | |
| pTNM UICC staging (n=137) | |||
| Ia | 15 (11) | 23 (17) | NS |
| Ib | 4 (3) | 11 (8) | (0.023 when stages III+ |
| IIa | 8 (6) | 12 (9) | |
| IIb | 3 (2) | 5 (4) | IV compared to I+II) |
| IIIa | 11 (8) | 12 (9) | |
| IIIb | 5 (4) | 5 (4) | |
| IV | 15 (11) | 8 (6) | |
| pTNM AJCC staging (n=137) | |||
| Ia | 13 (9) | 24 (18) | NS |
| Ib | 6 (4) | 10 (7) | (0.046 when stages III+IV compared to I+II) |
| IIa | 3 (2) | 8 (6) | |
| IIb | 5 (4) | 8 (6) | |
| IIc | 3 (2) | 2 (1) | |
| IIIa | 5 (4) | 6 (4) | |
| IIIb | 8 (6) | 9 (7) | |
| IIIc | 3 (2) | 2 (1) | |
| IV | 14 (10) | 8 (6) | |
| Tumour thickness Breslow | |||
| ⩽1 mm | 27 (20) | 32 (23) | NS |
| >1 mm | 34 (25) | 44 (32) | |
| Clark level | |||
| I | 0 | 0 | NS |
| II | 14 (10) | 14 (10) | |
| III | 18 (13) | 28 (20) | |
| IV | 26 (19) | 30 (22) | |
| V | 3 (2) | 4 (3) | |
| Ulceration (n=137) | |||
| Yes | 27 (20) | 18 (13) | 0.009 |
| No | 33 (24) | 59 (43) | |
| No. of primary tumours | |||
| 1 | 39 (28) | 64 (47) | 0.022 |
| >1 | 22 (16) | 12 (9) | |
| Metastasis | |||
| Yes | 31 (23) | 25 (18) | 0.025 |
| No | 30 (22) | 51 (37) | |
| No. of metastases | |||
| 1 | 13 (23) | 12 (22) | NS |
| >1 | 18 (32) | 13 (23) | |
| Subtype of metastasis | |||
| Local | 11 (36) | 12 (48) | NS |
| Regional | 5 (16) | 5 (20) | |
| Distant | 15 (48) | 8 (32) | |
| Tumour subtype | |||
| SSM | 30 (22) | 37 (27) | NS |
| NMM | 25 (18) | 25 (18) | |
| Others | 6 (5) | 14 (10) | |
Abbreviations: AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer; NMM, nodular malignant melanoma; No., number; NS, not significant; pTNM, tumour, lymph node and distant metastasis status; SSM, superficial spreading melanoma; UICC, Union Internationale Contre le Cancer.
a
Vessels per visual field.
b
Cells per visual field.