Cancer stem cell markers correlate with early recurrence and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Baseline characteristics

Characteristic	ER group	NER group	P value
	n = 38	n = 52
Age (yr)	48.4 ± 10.6	47.2 ± 12.9	0.637
BMI (kg/m2)
< 23	28	34	0.401
≥ 23	10	18
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	14.0 ± 6.3	13.3 ± 5.7	0.585
Albumin (g/L)	40.0 ± 3.9	41.0 ± 4.9	0.300
ALT (U/L)	38.1 ± 31.5	40.2 ± 39.7	0.767
AST (U/L)	51.9 ± 40.0	47.3 ± 46.1	0.850
Prothrombin time (s)	13.0 ± 2.1	12.6 ± 1.3	0.346
Platelet count (109/L)	150.2 ± 49.0	196.7 ± 83.5	0.003
AFP (ng/mL)
< 400	24	37	0.423
≥ 400	14	15
Tumor size (cm)	7.0 ± 3.0	6.0 ± 2.9	0.093
Liver cirrhosis
Present	26	22	0.014
Absent	12	30
Tumor capsule
Present	23	32	0.038
Absent	15	20
Edmondson grade
I or II	17	28	0.393
III or IV	21	24

Baseline characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who experienced recurrence (ER) within two years of hepatectomy (ER group) and HCC patients who did not (NER group). AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 2 Baseline characteristics of experienced recurrence and non-experienced recurrence patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, after propensity-score matching

Characteristic	ER group	NER group	P value
	n = 25	n = 25
Age (yr)	46.6 ± 8.9	45.7 ± 13.7	0.784
BMI (kg/m2)
< 23	18	16	0.544
≥ 23	7	9
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	13.2 ± 2.5	15.4 ± 6.4	0.989
Albumin (g/L)	39.3 ± 3.5	40.3 ± 4.7	0.371
ALT (U/L)	39.6 ± 16.9	34.6 ± 12.4	0.232
AST (U/L)	50.4 ± 35.0	47.8 ± 24.9	0.767
Prothrombin time (s)	13.2 ± 2.5	12.7 ± 1.6	0.466
Platelet count (109/L)	141.5 ± 42.0	157.4 ± 64.6	0.308
AFP (ng/mL)
< 400	17	20	0.333
≥ 400	8	5
Tumor size (cm)	6.9 ± 3.0	6.0 ± 2.9	0.164
Liver cirrhosis
Present	18	18	1.000
Absent	7	7
Tumor capsule
Present	7	7	1.000
Absent	18	18
Edmondson grade
I or II	8	12	0.248
III or IV	17	13

AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; BMI: Body mass index; ER: Early recurrence; NER: Non-ER.

Table 3 Association of CD133, CD90, and epithelial cell adhesion molecule expression with clinicopathological variables

Variable	n	CD133		P value	CD90		P value	EpCAM		P value
		Positive	Negative		Positive	Negative		Positive	Negative
Tumor size (cm)
< 5	22	20	2	0.439	11	11	0.034	11	11	0.310
≥ 5	28	22	6		22	6		10	18
Tumor capsule
Present	14	8	6	0.005	8	6	0.623	8	6	0.176
Absent	36	34	2		25	11		13	23
Edmondson grade
I or II	20	17	3	0.875	9	11	0.010	7	13	0.413
III or IV	30	25	5		24	6		14	16
AFP (ng/mL)
< 400	37	32	5	0.721	25	12	0.957	12	25	0.021
≥ 400	13	10	3		8	5		9	4

Association of CD133, CD90, and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expression with dichotomized clinicopathological variables in HCC patients after propensity-score matching; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein.

Table 4 Association of CD133, CD90, and epithelial cell adhesion molecule expression with recurrence and survival

Marker	ER group	NER group	P value	Overall survival			P value
	n = 25	n = 25		1 yr	2 yr	3 yr
CD133
Positive	20	22	0.440	85.9%	71.2%	68.6%	0.732
Negative	5	3		87.5%	72.9%	54.7%
CD90
Positive	22	11	0.001	78.8%	60.2%	56.4%	0.018
Negative	3	14		100.0%	94.1%	88.2%
EpCAM
Positive	14	7	0.045	85.7%	51.3%	46.2%	0.010
Negative	11	18		86.2%	86.2%	82.3%

Association of CD133, CD90, and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expression with dichotomized clinicopathological variables in HCC patients after propensity-score matching; ER: Early recurrence; NER: Non-ER.