Table 1.
Clinicopathological and Treatment Characteristics of ESCC Patients, Grouped Based on Serum sPD-L1 Level (Low vs High)
| Factors | Total | Low sPD-L1 Group | High sPD-L1 Group | p | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 190 | (%) | N = 57 | (30%) | N = 133 | (70%) | ||
| Age | 0.296 | ||||||
| <68 * | 91 | 47.9 | 24 | 42.1 | 67 | 50.4 | |
| ≥68 | 99 | 52.1 | 33 | 58.9 | 66 | 49.6 | |
| Gender | <0.001 | ||||||
| Male | 87 | 45.8 | 48 | 84.2 | 39 | 29.3 | |
| Female | 103 | 54.2 | 9 | 15.8 | 94 | 70.7 | |
| BMI (Kg/m2) | 0.970 | ||||||
| <25 | 147 | 77.4 | 44 | 77.2 | 103 | 77.4 | |
| ≥25 | 43 | 22.6 | 13 | 22.8 | 30 | 22.6 | |
| Tumor location | 0.454 | ||||||
| Upper | 27 | 14.2 | 5 | 8.8 | 22 | 16.5 | |
| Middle | 83 | 43.7 | 27 | 47.4 | 56 | 42.1 | |
| Lower | 63 | 33.2 | 21 | 36.8 | 42 | 31.6 | |
| Overlapping | 17 | 8.9 | 4 | 7.0 | 13 | 9.8 | |
| ECOG PS | 0.823 | ||||||
| 0–1 | 81 | 42.6 | 25 | 43.7 | 56 | 42.1 | |
| ≥2 | 109 | 57.4 | 32 | 56.1 | 77 | 57.9 | |
| Grade | 0.093 | ||||||
| Well | 6 | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4.5 | |
| Moderately | 92 | 48.4 | 33 | 57.9 | 59 | 44.4 | |
| Poorly | 92 | 48.4 | 24 | 42.1 | 68 | 51.3 | |
| T classification | 0.168 | ||||||
| T2 | 35 | 18.4 | 11 | 19.3 | 24 | 18.0 | |
| T3 | 90 | 47.4 | 32 | 56.1 | 58 | 43.6 | |
| T4 | 65 | 34.2 | 14 | 24.6 | 51 | 38.4 | |
| LN metastasis | 0.457 | ||||||
| Absent | 34 | 17.9 | 12 | 21.0 | 22 | 16.5 | |
| Present | 156 | 82.1 | 45 | 79.0 | 111 | 83.5 | |
| Distant metastasis | 0.336 | ||||||
| Absent (III) | 110 | 57.9 | 36 | 63.2 | 74 | 55.6 | |
| Present (III) | 80 | 42.1 | 21 | 36.8 | 59 | 44.4 | |
| Radiotherapy | 0.747 | ||||||
| Absent | 154 | 81.1 | 47 | 82.5 | 107 | 80.5 | |
| Present | 36 | 18.9 | 10 | 17.5 | 26 | 19.5 | |
| Sub-therapy | 0.061 | ||||||
| Absent | 76 | 40.0 | 17 | 29.8 | 59 | 44.4 | |
| Present | 114 | 60.0 | 40 | 70.2 | 74 | 55.6 | |
| NLR | 0.536 | ||||||
| < 6.60 | 73 | 38.4 | 20 | 35.1 | 53 | 39.8 | |
| ≥6.60 | 117 | 61.6 | 37 | 64.9 | 80 | 60.2 | |
| PLR | 0.758 | ||||||
| < 145 | 29 | 15.3 | 8 | 14.0 | 21 | 15.8 | |
| ≥145 | 161 | 84.7 | 49 | 86.0 | 112 | 84.2 | |
| CRP (mg/L) | 0.089 | ||||||
| < 5.21 | 60 | 31.6 | 23 | 40.3 | 37 | 27.8 | |
| ≥5.21 | 130 | 68.4 | 34 | 59.7 | 96 | 72.2 | |
| ALB (g/L) | 0.776 | ||||||
| < 40.0 | 97 | 51.1 | 30 | 52.6 | 67 | 50.4 | |
| ≥40.0 | 93 | 48.9 | 27 | 47.4 | 66 | 49.6 | |
| GLB (g/L) | 0.003 | ||||||
| < 25.7 | 111 | 58.4 | 24 | 42.1 | 87 | 65.4 | |
| ≥25.7 | 79 | 41.6 | 33 | 57.9 | 46 | 34.6 | |
| LDH (U/L) | 0.203 | ||||||
| < 212 | 126 | 66.3 | 34 | 59.6 | 92 | 69.2 | |
| ≥212 | 64 | 33.7 | 23 | 40.4 | 41 | 30.8 | |
Note: *The median age at diagnosis is 68 years for ESCC patients in this study.
Abbreviations: ESCC, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; BMI, body mass index; ECOG PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score; LN metastasis, lymph node metastasis; Sub-therapy, subsequent second-line chemotherapy; NLR, Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet lymphocyte ratio; CRP, C-reactive protein; ALB, albumin; GLB, globulin; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase.