Significance and prognostic value of increased serum direct bilirubin level for lymph node metastasis in Chinese rectal cancer patients

Figure 1 Baseline serum direct bilirubin concentration (median and inter-quartile range) in rectal adenocarcinoma patients with and without lymph node metastasis. Error bars indicate full ranges and the five-pointed stars indicate the exceptional values.

Figure 2 Association between concentrations of increased serum direct bilirubin and lymph node metastasis. Patients were separated into four groups based on the concentration of direct bilirubin (DBil), including DBil ≤ 1.50 μmol/L, 1.50 μmol/L < DBil ≤ 2.50 μmol/L, 2.50 μmol/L < DBil ≤ 3.50 μmol/L, and DBil > 3.50 μmol/L. The histograms indicate the percentages of patients with lymph node metastasis (LNM) in each group.

Figure 3 Survival analysis: Kaplan-Meier curve (log rank test) showed that serum direct bilirubin was associated with the prognosis (survival time) in rectal adenocarcinoma patients. The cutoff (direct bilirubin ≥ 2.60 μmol/L) was determined based on the combination of sensitivity, specificity, ROC curve and areas under the curve.