Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of included patients
| Variables | All patients (n = 245) | Low NCSTN (n = 107) | High NCSTN (n = 138) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient factors/Laboratory parameters | ||||
| Age [year, mean (SD)] | 51.6 (12.4) | 51.5 (12.4) | 51.8 (12.4) | 0.825 |
| Male gender, n (%) | 201 (82.0) | 83 (77.6) | 118 (85.5) | 0.132 |
| HBsAg, [positive, n (%)] | 210 (85.7) | 95 (88.8) | 115 (83.3) | 0.228 |
| AFP ≥ 400, n (%) | 93 (38.0) | 32 (29.9) | 61 (44.2) | 0.022 |
| Ascites, n (%) | 30 (12.2) | 12 (11.2) | 18 (13.0) | 0.665 |
| Histological and gross features of tumors | ||||
| Tumor size, [cm, mean (SD)] | 5.7 (3.3) | 4.3 (3.2) | 6.3 (3.3) | < 0.001 |
| Solitary tumor, n (%) | 204 (83.3) | 92 (86.0) | 112 (81.1) | 0.332 |
| Tumor differentiation | 0.027 | |||
| Well/Moderate | 143 (58.4) | 69 (64.5) | 74 (53.6) | |
| Poor | 102 (41.6) | 38 (35.5) | 64 (49.5) | |
| Macrovascular invasion, n (%) | 9 (3.7) | 4 (3.7) | 5 (3.6) | 0.962 |
| Microvascular invasion, n (%) | 80 (32.7) | 32 (29.9) | 48 (34.8) | 0.420 |
| Cirrhosis, n (%) | 153 (62.4) | 66 (61.7) | 87 (63.0) | 0.827 |
| TNM stage, n (%) | 0.060 | |||
| I- II | 186 (75.9) | 86 (80.4) | 100 (72.5) | |
| III | 59 (24.1) | 21 (19.6) | 38 (27.5) | |
| BCLC stage | 0.493 | |||
| A | 198 (80.8) | 83 (77.6) | 115 (83.3)) | |
| B | 36 (14.7) | 19 (17.8) | 18 (13.0) | |
| C | 10 (4.1) | 5 (4.7) | 5 (3.6) | |
| Prognostic outcome | ||||
| Overall survival, months, mean (95% CI) | 31.5 (29.5, 33.6) | 36.0 (32.7, 39.3) | 28.1 (25.6, 30.6) | |
TNM Tumor-node-metastasis, SD Standard deviation, CI Confidence interval