Table II.
Comparison of patients by AFP concentration
| Characteristics | AFP < 100 ng/ml (n = 365) |
AFP ≥ 100 ng/ml (n = 26) |
P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (M/F) | 118/247 | 6/20 | 0.327 | |
| CEA [U/ml] | 2.4 (1–26149) | 17 (0.6–56662) | < 0.001 | |
| CA19-9 [U/ml] | 19 (1.2–77924) | 25 (1–37849) | 0.882 | |
| Histopathology: | 0.006 | |||
| Signet-ring cell carcinoma | 96 (26.3%) | 2 (7.6%) | ||
| Poorly differentiated carcinoma | 115 (31.5%) | 8 (30.7%) | ||
| Moderately differentiated carcinoma | 70 (19.1%) | 2 (7.6%) | ||
| Well-differentiated carcinoma | 57 (15.6%) | 10 (38.4%) | ||
| Other | 27 (7.3%) | 4 (15.3%) | ||
| Stage: | 0.252 | |||
| Stage I | 28 (7.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | ||
| Stage II | 22 (6.0%) | 1 (3.8%) | ||
| Stage III | 38 (10.4%) | 1 (3.8%) | ||
| Stage IV | 277 (62.1%) | 24 (92.3%) | ||
| Location of the lesion (proximal/distal) | 99/226 | 7/19 | 0.982 | |
| Metastasis status: | < 0.001 | |||
| Liver metastasis only | 84 (23.0%) | 18 (69.2%) | ||
| Lungs metastasis only | 17 (4.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | ||
| Bone metastasis only | 8 (2.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | ||
| Diffuse metastasis** | 120 (32.8%) | 3 (11.5%) | ||
| No metastasis | 136 (37.2%) | 5 (19.2%) | ||
| Liver metastasis | 117 (32.1%) | 21 (80.8%) | < 0.001 | |
n: Sample size. *Pearson’s χ2 test was used. **Diffuse metastasis: metastasis to ≥ 2 different regions.