Table 1.
Clinicopathological correlations of α7-nAChR expressions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC).
| Parameters | Expression, n (%) | Spearman’s Correlation | 5-Year SR c | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | High | p a | r | pb value | Low | High | P d | |
| 69 (38.5) | 110 (61.5) | |||||||
| Age (years) | ||||||||
| <60 | 51 (73.9) | 71 (64.5) | 0.13 | −0.10 | 0.39 | 55.6 | 9.1 | 0.28 |
| ≥60 | 18 (26.1) | 39 (35.5) | 39.8 | 14.2 | ||||
| Gender | ||||||||
| Male | 53 (76.8) | 90 (81.8) | 0.27 | −0.16 | 0.04 | 50.1 | 9.5 | 0.03 |
| Female | 16 (23.2) | 20 (18.2) | 28.6 | 3.7 | ||||
| Smoking Status | ||||||||
| smokers | 49 (71.0) | 41 (37.6) | <0.001 | 0.71 | 0.004 | 55.6 | 19.5 | <0.001 |
| Ex-smokers | 12 (17.4) | 24 (21.8) | 28.4 | 6.4 | ||||
| Current-smokers | 8 (11.6) | 45 (40.9) | 27.0 | 5.9 | ||||
| Smoking pack-years | ||||||||
| Non smokers | 50 (72.5) | 40 (36.4) | <0.001 | 0.67 | <0.001 | 50.3 | 8.6 | 0.001 |
| >0 and <20 | 10 (14.5) | 35 (31.8) | 29.5 | 6.8 | ||||
| ≥20 | 9 (13.0) | 35 (31.8) | 29.6 | 5.8 | ||||
| Alcohol consumption | ||||||||
| No | 46 (66.7) | 46 (41.8) | <0.001 | 0.56 | 0.03 | 55.6 | 14.8 | 0.02 |
| Low–Moderate | 17 (24.6) | 33 (30.0) | 39.4 | 6.8 | ||||
| Moderate–High | 6 (8.7) | 31 (28.2) | 34.5 | 6.1 | ||||
| Alpha-fetoprotein (ng/mL) | ||||||||
| <20 | 43 (62.3) | 67 (60.9) | 0.44 | 0.09 | 0.23 | 29.7 | 20.5 | 0.29 |
| ≥20 | 26 (37.7) | 43 (39.1) | 28.4 | 16.5 | ||||
| Viral status | ||||||||
| Negative | 27 (39.1) | 39 (35.5) | 0.87 | 0.52 | 0.49 | 54.7 | 14.4 | 0.76 |
| HBV | 30 (43.5) | 54 (49.1) | 42.3 | 25.1 | ||||
| HCV | 10 (14.5) | 15 (13.6) | 42.4 | 17.8 | ||||
| HBV & HCV | 2 (2.9) | 2 (1.8) | 28.9 | 29.1 | ||||
| Liver cirrhosis | ||||||||
| Negative | 63 (91.3) | 36 (32.7) | <0.001 | 0.6 | 0.001 | 47.8 | 14.2 | |
| Positive | 6 (8.7) | 74 (67.3) | 47.5 | 28.1 | ||||
| Tumor size | ||||||||
| <5 cm | 54 (78.3) | 10 (9.1) | <0.001 | 0.46 | <0.001 | 46.6 | 21.1 | 0.002 |
| ≥5 cm | 15 (21.7) | 100 (90.9) | 47.2 | 18.1 | ||||
| Tumor number | ||||||||
| Solitary | 58 (84.1) | 52 (47.3) | <0.001 | 0.53 | 0.01 | 46.7 | 31.3 | 0.05 |
| Multiple | 11(15.9) | 58 (52.7) | 43.8 | 9.8 | ||||
| Vascular Invasion | ||||||||
| 0 | 50 (72.5) | 22 (20.0) | 0.001 | 0.6 | <0.001 | 46.6 | 31.5 | 0.03 |
| 1 | 12 (17.4) | 31 (28.2) | 59.1 | 23.6 | ||||
| 2 | 5 (7.2) | 42 (38.2) | 41.9 | 11.7 | ||||
| 3 | 1 (1.4) | 2 (1.8) | 33.2 | 11.1 | ||||
| 4 | 1 (1.4) | 13 (11.8) | 35.3 | 10.8 | ||||
| Recurrent | ||||||||
| No | 50 (72.5) | 54 (49.1) | 0.002 | 0.60 | 0.001 | 42.8 | 13.3 | <0.001 |
| Yes | 19 (27.5) | 56 (50.9) | 51.2 | 27.7 | ||||
| TNM stage | ||||||||
| I | 55 (79.9) | 10 (9.1) | <0.001 | 0.69 | <0.001 | 50.2 | 33.8 | 0.05 |
| II | 10 (14.5) | 49 (44.5) | 36.7 | 19.8 | 0.001 | |||
| III | 3 (4.3) | 43 (39.1) | 34.7 | 6.8 | 0.01 | |||
| IV | 1 (1.4) | 8 (7.3) | 3.5 | 2.3 | 0.02 | |||
a Mann–Whitney U test (for 2 groups) or Kruskal–Wallis test (for >2 groups), b Spearman Correlation, c Five-year survival rate, d Log-rank test. HCV: hepatitis C, HBV: hepatitis B.