Table 3. Univariate and multivariate analyses of NLN count on GCSS based on different cancer stage.

Variable	5-year RCCS	Univariate analysis		Multivariate analysis
		Log rank χ2 test	P	HR(95%CI)	P
N Stage
N1 stage
No. of NLNs		121.351	<0.001		<0.001
0-2	25.7%			Reference
3-8	43.1%			0.640(0.526-0.779)	<0.001
≥9	55.9%			0.440(0.367-0.528)	<0.001
N2 stage
No. of NLNs		118.978	<0.001		<0.001
0-2	19.1%			Reference
3-8	29.2%			0.697(0.584-0.831)	<0.001
≥9	43.9%			0.471(0.397-0.558)	<0.001
N3 stage
No. of NLNs		163.051	<0.001		<0.001
0-2	8.5%			Reference
3-8	15.0%			0.684(0.591-0.791)	<0.001
≥9	33.3%			0.436(0.376-0.505)	<0.001

P-values refer to comparisons between two groups and were adjusted for age, race, pathological grading, and tumor stage as covariates.