Table 2.
Association of relative angiopoietin-1 (ANG1) expression at the tumor-infiltrating front (TIF) or central area (TCA) with clinicopathological characteristics of the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as determined by the chi-squared (χ2) test
| Variable | ANG1 high/TIF | ANG1 low/TIF | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of patients | 9 | 49 | |
| Patient- and tumor-related variables | |||
| Patient age, years | 0.342 | ||
| ≤ 60 | 2 (22.7%) | 19 (38.8%) | |
| > 60 | 7 (77.8%) | 30 (61.2%) | |
| Gender | 0.079 | ||
| Female | 9 (100.0%) | 36 (73.5%) | |
| Male | 0 (00.0%) | 13 (26.5%) | |
| Multiple tumor nodules | 0.376 | ||
| Positive | 1 (1.1%) | 12 (24.5%) | |
| Negative | 8 (88.9%) | 37 (75.5%) | |
| Tumor size, mm | 0.114 | ||
| ≤ 50 | 0 (00.0%) | 11 (22.4%) | |
| > 50 | 9 (100.0%) | 38 (77.6%) | |
| Angioinvasion | 0.634 | ||
| Positive | 4 (44.4%) | 26 (53.1%) | |
| Negative | 5 (55.6%) | 23 (46.9%) | |
| Histologic differentiation | 0.786 | ||
| Well | 2 (22.2%) | 9 (18.4%) | |
| Moderate/poor | 7 (77.8%) | 40 (81.6%) | |
| Pathologic T stage | 0.079 | ||
| T1/T2 | 7 (77.8%) | 22 (45.8%) | |
| T3/T4 | 2 (22.2%) | 27 (54.2%) | |
| Pathologic N stage | 0.537 | ||
| Positive | 0 (00.0%) | 2 (4.1%) | |
| Negative | 9 (100.0%) | 47(95.9%) | |
| TEMs in TIF | 0.132 | ||
| Positive | 8 (88.9%) | 31 (63.3%) | |
| Negative | 1 (11.1%) | 18 (36.7%) | |
| Operative variables | |||
| R status | 0.691 | ||
| Positive | 1 (11.1%) | 8 (16.3%) | |
| Negative | 8 (88.9%) | 41 (83.7%) | |
| Variables of patient outcome | |||
| Local tumor recurrence | 0.007 | ||
| Positive | 6 (66.7%) | 11 (22.4%) | |
| Negative | 3 (33.3%) | 38 (77.6%) | |
| Overall tumor recurrence | 0.072 | ||
| Positive | 6 (66.7%) | 17 (34.7%) | |
| Negative | 3 (33.3%) | 32 (65.3%) | |
| Metastases | 0.513 | ||
| Positive | 1 (1.1%) | 10 (20.4%) | |
| Negative | 8 (88.9%) | 39 (79.6%) | |
| Variable | ANG1 high/TCA | ANG1 low/TCA | p |
| No. of patients | 12 | 46 | |
| Patient- and tumor-related variables | |||
| TEMs in TCA | 0.111 | ||
| Positive | 5 (41.7%) | 9 (19.6%) | |
| Negative | 7 (58.3%) | 37 (80.4%) | |
| TEMs in TIF | 0.182 | ||
| Positive | 10 (83.3%) | 29 (63.0%) | |
| Negative | 2 (16.7%) | 17 (36.0%) | |
| Angioinvasion | 0.245 | ||
| Positive | 8 (66.7%) | 22 (47.8%) | |
| Negative | 4 (33.3%) | 24 (52.2%) | |
| Variables of patient outcome | |||
| Metastases | 0.024 | ||
| Positive | 5 (41.7%) | 6 (13.0%) | |
| Negative | 7 (58.3%) | 40 (87.0%) | |
The Fischer test was applied when the number of patients in the subgroups was less than five (n < 5) in more than 25% of cases