Table 4.
Correlations of HGF and c-Met protein expressions and MVD with clinicopathological features of HCC patients
| Feature | HGF expression (%) | P-value | c-Met expression (%) | P-value | MVD | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 0.938 | 0.367 | 0.888 | |||
| <50 | 32.65 | 69.39 | 47.49±7.13 | |||
| ≥50 | 33.33 | 76.81 | 47.71±9.09 | |||
| Gender | 0.192 | 0.573 | 0.185 | |||
| Male | 37.33 | 72.00 | 48.39±8.42 | |||
| Female | 25.58 | 76.74 | 46.28±8.00 | |||
| Tumor differentiation | 0.352 | 0.239 | 0.592 | |||
| Low | 22.58 | 70.97 | 48.94±9.40 | |||
| Moderate | 36.59 | 82.93 | 47.19±7.12 | |||
| High | 36.96 | 67.39 | 47.12±8.57 | |||
| TNM stage | 0.025 | 0.006 | 0.02 | |||
| I + II | 46.34 | 58.54 | 45.19±8.62 | |||
| III + IV | 25.97 | 81.82 | 48.91±7.88 | |||
| Tumor size | 0.003 | 0.027 | 0.002 | |||
| <3 cm | 46.43 | 64.29 | 45.20±8.80 | |||
| ≥3 cm | 20.97 | 82.26 | 49.81±7.21 | |||
| Tumor number | 0.56 | 0.219 | 0.273 | |||
| <3 | 35.85 | 79.25 | 46.69±7.71 | |||
| ≥3 | 30.77 | 69.23 | 48.38±8.74 | |||
| Vascular invasion | 0.042 | 0.005 | 0.002 | |||
| Yes | 25.37 | 83.58 | 49.66±7.14 | |||
| No | 43.14 | 60.78 | 44.94±9.01 | |||
| Liver cirrhosis | 0.025 | 0.042 | 0.157 | |||
| Yes | 25.33 | |||||
| No | 46.51 | |||||
| HCV infection | 0.026 | 0.046 | 0.780 | |||
| Positive | 16.13 | 48.39 | 47.51±8.82 | |||
| Negative | 39.08 | 27.59 | 47.94±6.76 | |||
| HBV infection | 0.015 | 0.024 | 0.596 | |||
| Positive | 25.00 | 40.79 | 47.92±8.15 | |||
| Negative | 47.62 | 19.0 | 47.07±8.63 |
Abbreviations: HGF, hepatocyte growth factor; c-Met, cellular mesenchymal to epithelial transition factor; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; TNM, tumor, node, and metastasis; MVD, microvessel density; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HBV, hepatitis B virus.