Table 2. Factors associated with survival.
| Variable | n |
Univariate analysis |
Multivariate analysis |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P value | HR | 95% CI | P value | HR | 95% CI | ||
| Age (median 65.3 years) | 93 | 0.031* | 1.03 | 1.00–1.05 | 0.462 | 1.01 | 0.99–1.04 |
| Sex (male/female) | 53/40 | 0.573 | 1.13 | 0.74–1.73 | Not included | ||
| PDAC TNM stage | |||||||
| 1=Within pancreas <2 cm | 3 | 0.595 | Not included | ||||
| 2=Within pancreas >2 cm | 19 | 0.299 | 2.17 | 0.50–9.38 | |||
| 3=Local invasion | 70 | 0.217 | 2.44 | 0.59–9.99 | |||
| 4=Distant spread | 1 | 0.268 | 3.92 | 0.35–43.9 | |||
| PDCA grade | |||||||
| Well | 1 | 0.254 | Not included | ||||
| Moderate | 31 | 0.676 | 1.53 | 0.21–11.3 | |||
| Poor | 61 | 0.443 | 2.17 | 0.30–15.8 | |||
| Resection margin (R0/R1) | 28/65 | 0.247 | 1.32 | 0.83–2.10 | Not included | ||
| Vascular invasion (no/yes) | 16/77 | 0.170 | 1.49 | 0.84–2.65 | Not included | ||
| Perineural invasion (no/yes) | 2/91 | 0.128 | 4.66 | 0.65–33.6 | Not included | ||
| Lymphatic invasion (no/yes) | 33/60 | 0.208 | 1.33 | 0.85–2.09 | Not included | ||
| Lymph nodes +ve (no/yes) | 8/85 | 0.011* | 3.28 | 1.31–8.19 | 0.003** | 4.31 | 1.65–11.28 |
| Adjuvant therapy (no/yes) | 47/46 | 0.012* | 0.58 | 0.38–0.89 | 0.009** | 0.50 | 0.30–0.84 |
| Palliative chemotherapy | 32/56 | 0.88 | 0.68 | 0.43–1.06 | Not included | ||
| Percentage of PDAC SULF2+ve | |||||||
| 0 | 3 | 0.123 | Not included | ||||
| 1–25 | 34 | 0.057 | 6.94 | 0.95–51.0 | |||
| 26–50 | 17 | 0.080 | 6.12 | 0.81–46.5 | |||
| 51–75 | 17 | 0.084 | 5.99 | 0.79–45.6 | |||
| 76–100 | 22 | 0.024* | 10.3 | 1.35–76.3 | |||
| SULF2 intensity | |||||||
| None | 3 | 0.008** | (0.066) | ||||
| Weak | 15 | 0.045* | 7.96 | 1.04–60.7 | (0.114) | (5.31) | (0.67–42.0) |
| Moderate | 38 | 0.103 | 5.25 | 0.72–38.5 | (0.174) | (4.03) | (0.54–30.1) |
| Strong | 37 | 0.022* | 10.4 | 1.41–76.2 | (0.058) | (7.04) | (0.93–53.0) |
| Combined SULF2 score | |||||||
| 0 | 3 | 0.028* | (0.084) | ||||
| 2 | 9 | 0.066 | 6.97 | 0.88–55.3 | (0.164) | (4.49) | (0.54–37.3) |
| 3 | 8 | 0.084 | 6.33 | 0.78–51.2 | (0.211) | (3.84) | (0.47–31.7) |
| 4 | 35 | 0.055 | 7.04 | 0.96–51.7 | (0.124) | (4.84) | (0.65–36.3) |
| 5 | 13 | 0.127 | 4.94 | 0.63–38.4 | (0.194) | (3.97) | (0.50–31.9) |
| 6 | 13 | 0.040* | 8.47 | 1.10–65.3 | (0.089) | (6.00) | (0.76–47.3) |
| 7 | 12 | 0.006** | 17.9 | 2.27–142.3 | (0.021)* | (11.65) | (1.44–94.1) |
| Combined SULF2 score | |||||||
| 0–5 (lower) vs 6–7 (high) | 68/25 | 0.002** | 2.21 | 1.35-3.61 | 0.004** | 2.10 | 1.26-3.54 |
| Tumour stromal SULF2 | |||||||
| None | 29 | 0.861 | Not included | ||||
| Focal | 54 | 0.644 | 1.12 | 0.70–1.78 | |||
| Marked | 10 | 0.647 | 1.19 | 0.57–2.46 | |||
| Stromal SULF2 (outside) | |||||||
| None | 17 | 0.047* | 0.377 | ||||
| Focal | 48 | 0.103 | 0.62 | 0.35–1.10 | 0.700 | 1.14 | 0.59–2.17 |
| Marked | 28 | 0.775 | 1.09 | 0.59–2.01 | 0.224 | 1.51 | 0.78–2.91 |
Abbreviations: CI=confidence interval; HR=hazard ratio; PDAC=pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; SULF=sulfatase; TNM=tumour node metastases.
The multivariate Cox regression analysis included variables (highlighted in bold) with a P value<0.05 in univariate analyses. The combined bivariate SULF2 score comparing low (0–5) vs high (6–7) was entered into the analysis shown. Data in brackets show similar multivariate analyses entering either SI score or combined SULF2 score with ordinal groups instead. For categorical variables, the comparator was the first listed variable. HR and 95% lower and upper CI are shown for all variables. *P<0.05; **P<0.01.