Prognostic role of plasma level of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, and vascular endothelial growth factor in hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 2 Univariate and multivariate analysis on the factors predictive for poor overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Variable	Univariate analysis		Multivariable analysis
	HR (95%CI)	P value	HR (95%CI)	P value
Ang-2 group (cut-off: Median level)
Low Ang-2 group	Reference	–	Reference	–
High Ang-2 group	4.76 (3.15 – 7.20)	< 0.001	5.96 (1.58–22.43)	< 0.001
VEGF group (cut-off: Median level)
Low VEGF group	Reference	–	Reference	–
High VEGF group	1.39 (0.97–2.00)	0.07	0.80 (0.33–1.98)	0.63
Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio	1.02 (0.94–1.06)	0.26	–	–
AFP (≥ 20 ng/mL)	2.97 (2.02–4.37)	< 0.001	2.63 (0.85–8.09)	0.09
Age	1.00 (0.98–1.02)	0.93	–	–
Male sex	1.05 (0.68–1.64)	0.82	–	–
BMI > 25 kg/m2	0.70 (0.47–1.03)	0.07	–	–
Presence of cirrhosis	1.02 (0.67–1.57)	0.92	–	–
Child-Pugh class B or C	3.68 (2.42–5.58)	< 0.001	5.59 (2.44–12.81)	< 0.001
NLR	3.24 (1.49–7.06)	0.003	4.45 (1.77–11.23)	0.002
PLR	2.68 (1.26–5.70)	0.01	0.56 (0.24–1.33)	0.19
TNM stage
I	Reference	–	Reference	–
II	6.30 (1.15–34.42)	0.03	3.61 (0.62–21.08)	0.15
III	26.43 (6.01–116.24)	< 0.001	14.20 (2.82–71.45)	0.001
IV	70.42 (15.00–330.6)	< 0.001	41.39 (6.62–258.67)	< 0.001

Cox proportional hazards model with a backward elimination approach was used for multivariable analysis. HR: Hazard ratio; CI: Confidence interval; VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; BMI: Body mass index; MELD: Model for end stage liver disease; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; TNM: Tumor-node-metastasis.