Table 1. Associations between serum YKL-40 and clinical characteristics in 212 HCC patients undergoing TACE treatment.
| Characteristic | Serum YKL-40 levels | P | ||
| Normal | Elevated | |||
| Age (years) | ||||
| ≤53 (n = 111) | 49 | 62 | ||
| >53(n = 101) | 28 | 73 | 0.013 | |
| Sex | ||||
| Male (n = 135) | 51 | 84 | ||
| Female (n = 77) | 26 | 51 | 0.559 | |
| Etiology | ||||
| HBV (n = 163) | 56 | 107 | ||
| HCV (n = 36) | 18 | 18 | 0.224 | |
| HBV, HCV (n = 6) | 1 | 5 | ||
| Others (n = 7) | 2 | 5 | ||
| Child-Pugh class | ||||
| A (n = 162) | 61 | 101 | ||
| B (n = 43) | 12 | 31 | 0.252 | |
| C(n = 7) | 4 | 3 | ||
| Serum AFP (ng/mL) | ||||
| ≤20(n = 96) | 43 | 53 | ||
| >20(n = 116) | 34 | 82 | 0.020 | |
| Tumor size (cm) | ||||
| ≤2 (n = 92) | 36 | 56 | ||
| >2 (n = 130) | 41 | 79 | 0.456 | |
| Tumor number | ||||
| Single (n = 149) | 56 | 93 | ||
| Multiple (n = 63) | 21 | 42 | 0.556 | |
| Vein invasiona | ||||
| No (n = 155) | 59 | 96 | ||
| Yes (n = 56) | 18 | 38 | 0.430 | |
| Number of TACE sessions | ||||
| Single (n = 165) | 58 | 107 | ||
| Multiple (n = 47) | 19 | 28 | 0.507 | |
a
Evaluated on imaging findings.
HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein.