Table 4.
Associations between expression of the Hh signaling pathway components and the clinical/pathological characteristics of PTC patients
| Total | SHH (-/+) | p-value | PTCH (-/+) | p-value | SMO (-/+) | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Female | 130 | 47/83 | 0.726 | 44/86 | 0.583 | 56/74 | 0.227 |
| Male | 46 | 18/28 | 13/33 | 15/31 | ||||
| Age | <45 | 115 | 40/75 | 0.418 | 36/79 | 0.736 | 49/66 | 0.424 |
| ≥45 | 61 | 25/36 | 21/40 | 22/39 | ||||
| Tumor size | ≤2 cm | 111 | 49/62 | 0.010 | 42/69 | 0.047 | 52/59 | 0.026 |
| >2 cm | 65 | 16/49 | 15/50 | 19/46 | ||||
| ETE | Yes | 25 | 4/21 | 0.024 | 3/22 | 0.020 | 5/20 | 0.028 |
| No | 151 | 61/90 | 54/97 | 66/85 | ||||
| LNM | Yes | 106 | 34/72 | 0.008 | 32/74 | 0.026 | 38/68 | 0.013 |
| No | 70 | 37/33 | 33/37 | 39/31 | ||||
| TNM stage | I+II | 138 | 49/89 | 0.455 | 47/91 | 0.436 | 54/84 | 0.578 |
| III+IV | 38 | 16/22 | 10/28 | 17/21 |
P-values based on the chi-square test; “-” (negative), “+” (positive). ETE, extrathyroidal extension; LNM, lymph node metastasis.