Clinical significance of the expression of isoform 165 vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA in noncancerous liver remnants of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 2 Comparison of characteristics of primary HCC between different levels of VEGF₁₆₅ mRNA in noncancerous liver tussues.

Characteristics	Group A (%) (n = 49)	Group B (%) (n = 11)	P
Age (yr, mean)	52	48	NS
Male	73.5	72.7	NS
Liver cirrhosis	79.6	72.7	NS
Child-Pugh class A	71.4	72.7	NS
Tumor size <3 cm	28.6	27.2	NS
>10 cm	34.7	36.4	NS
HBsAg (+)	79.6	72.7	NS
Anti-HCV (+)	53.1	54.5	NS
AFP <20 ng/mL	32.7	27.2	NS
>1000 ng/mL	20.4	18.2	NS
Edmondson-Steiner grade I1	10.2	72.7	0.009
Capsule incomplete or absent2	75.5	18.2	0.007
Daughter nodules3	61.2	9.1	0.001
Vascular permeation4	65.3	9.1	0.001

Notes: high VEGF₁₆₅ mRNA: ≥0.500 (group A); low VEGF₁₆₅ mRNA: <0.500 (group B). P: by univariate analysis. 1, 2, 3 and 4: the significant variables in multivariate analysis with P values of 0.036, 0.048, 0.024, and 0.019 respectively. HBsAg: hepatitis B surface antigen; Anti-HCV: antibody to hepatitis C virus; AFP: alpha-fetoprotein; NS: no statistical significance.