Table II.
Associations between LF and recurrence.
| Univariate | Multivariate | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | Patients, n | Disease progression, n (%) | P-value | HR (95% CI) | P-value | HR (95% CI) | P-value |
| Age, years | 0.460 | 0.120 | 0.02a | ||||
| ≤70 | 33 | 15 (45) | 1.0 | 1.0 | |||
| >70 | 32 | 18 (56) | 1.6 (0.8–3.8) | 2,3 (1.1–4.1) | |||
| pT | 0.250 | 0.040a | 0.001a | ||||
| 1 | 36 | 15 (42) | 1.0 | 1.0 | |||
| 2 | 21 | 12 (57) | 1.3 (0.6–2.6) | 1.0 | |||
| 3 | 2 | 1 (50) | 1.6 (0.1–15.1) | 1.0 | |||
| 4 | 6 | 5 (83) | 3.8 (0.7–18.7) | 5.9 (1.9–17.9) | |||
| pN | 0.800 | 0.250 | |||||
| N0 | 35 | 17 (49) | 1.0 | ||||
| N+ | 30 | 16 (53) | 1.4 (0.7–2.7) | NSS | |||
| Histological grade | 0.310 | 0.150 | |||||
| 2 | 24 | 10 (42) | 1.0 | ||||
| 3 | 41 | 23 (56) | 1.6 (0.8–3.8) | NSS | |||
| Ki-67 LI | 0.080 | 0.150 | 0.007a | ||||
| Low (≤20%) | 31 | 12 (39) | 1.0 | 0.3 (0.1–0.1) | |||
| High (>20%) | 34 | 21 (62) | 1.6 (0.8–3.8) | 1.0 | |||
| LF expression | 0.010a | 0.030a | |||||
| Absent | 48 | 29 (60) | 2.9 (1.2–6.2) | ||||
| Present | 17 | 4 (24) | 1.0 | NSS | |||
a
P<0.05. LI, labeling index; LF, lactoferrin; pT, pathological tumor; pN, pathological node; HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval, NSS, not statistically significant.