Table 1.

Comparison of general characteristics of patients in the two groups.

	Hole group (n = 25)	Notch group (n = 29)	t/χ2	P
Age (years, $\overline{x}\pm s$)	70.16 ± 14.54	65.31 ± 10.80	1.404	0.166
Gender (M/F)	8/17	14/15	1.473	0.225
Disease course (months, $\overline{x}\pm s$)	42.18 ± 53.44	63.11 ± 68.40	−1.238	0.221
Times of scanning ($\overline{x}\pm s$)	4.56 ± 2.35	3.97 ± 2.16	0.961	0.341
Times of operation ($\overline{x}\pm s$)	1.04 ± 0.20	1.00 ± 0.00	1.079	0.286