TABLE 2.

HPS immunoreactivity in HCC tissue of 142 patients in relation to clinical-pathological characteristics

RNA in situ hybridization of HPS was performed in 142 HCCs. Minus and plus signs indicate the intensity of the staining. –, no positive signals; +, vague positive signals or less than 25% stained cells; ++, medium positive signals or 25–50% stained cells; +++, strong positive signals or more than 50% stained cells. The χ² test was performed to test the significance of association.

Clinical-pathological characteristics	n	-	+	++	+++
Age at diagnosis
<60 years	110	70	24	14	1
≥60 years	32	15	13	2	2
Gender
Female	29	16	10	2	1
Male	113	69	27	14	2
Histological grade
All	142	85	37	16	3
G1	16	9	5	2
G2	84	52	21	8	2
G3	42	24	11	6	1