Table 3. Univariate and multivariate analyses using Cox proportional hazards models for clinicopathological factors that influence OS.
| Characteristics | Univariate analysis | Multivariate analysis | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR (95% CI) | P | HR (95% CI) | P | ||
| Tumor tissue FSTL1 | |||||
| ≤6.5 | 1 (reference) | – | |||
| >6.5 | 1.454 (1.013–2.088) | 0.042 | |||
| Tumor stroma FSTL1 | |||||
| ≤3.17 | 1 (reference) | – | 1 (reference) | – | |
| >3.17 | 0.577 (0.403–0.826) | 0.003 | 0.571 (0.395–0.826) | 0.003 | |
| Age (years) | |||||
| ≤60 | 1 (reference) | – | |||
| >60 | 1.118 (0.790–1.583) | 0.528 | |||
| Sex | |||||
| Female | 1 (reference) | – | |||
| Male | 0.927 (0.651–1.321) | 0.675 | |||
| Primary tumor site | |||||
| Colon | 1 (reference) | – | |||
| Rectum | 0.563 (0.383–0.829) | 0.004 | |||
| Primary tumor size (cm) | |||||
| ≤4 | 1 (reference) | – | |||
| >4 | 0.698 (0.488–0.997) | 0.048 | |||
| TNM stage | |||||
| II | 1 (reference) | – | 1 (reference) | – | |
| III/IV | 2.710 (1.746–4.208) | <0.001 | 2.631 (1.681–4.117) | <0.001 | |
| Histological grade | |||||
| Well/moderate | 1 (reference) | – | |||
| Poor | 1.510 (0.975–2.337) | 0.065 | |||
| CEA level (ng/mL) | |||||
| ≤5 | 1 (reference) | – | 1 (reference) | – | |
| >5 | 2.491 (1.678–3.697) | <0.001 | 1.984 (1.296–3.039) | 0.002 | |
| CA19-9 level (U/mL) | |||||
| ≤35 | 1 (reference) | – | 1 (reference) | – | |
| >35 | 3.207 (2.244–4.583) | <0.001 | 2.387 (1.625–3.506) | <0.001 | |
P value: in the Cox hazards regression analyses, variables found to be statistically significant (P<0.05) in the univariate analysis were entered into a Cox regression multivariate model using a forward conditional method. FSTL1, Follistatin-like protein 1; HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval; CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen before primary tumor resection; CA19-9, cancer antigen 19-9 before primary tumor resection; OS, overall survival.