High plasma CD40 ligand level is associated with more advanced stages and worse prognosis in colorectal cancer

Table 1 Baseline laboratory results and anamnestic data of study subjects

Parameter	CRC patients (n = 106)	Controls (n = 50)	P value
Age (yr)	68.55 ± 8.64	63.91 ± 10.12	P = 0.2068
Sex [Male:Female, n (%)]	71 (67.0):35 (33.0)	35 (70.0):15 (30.0)	P = 1.0000
Body mass index (kg/m2)	27.37 ± 4.03	29.26 ± 5.07	P = 0.5995
White blood cell count (109/L)	8.76 ± 4.56	7.41 ± 1.99	P = 0.7308
Neutrophil count (109/L)	6.05 ± 3.60	4.45 ± 1.64	P = 0.0205
Eosinophil count (109/L)	0.28 ± 0.86	0.20 ± 0.15	P = 1.0000
Basophil count (109/L)	0.06 ± 0.05	0.06 ± 0.03	P = 1.0000
Monocyte count (109/L)	0.65 ± 0.48	0.48 ± 0.12	P = 0.2532
Lymphocyte count (109/L)	1.76 ± 1.07	2.22 ± 0.72	P = 0.0002
Red blood cell count (1012/L)	4.48 ± 0.57	4.93 ± 0.51	P = 0.0002
Hemoglobin (g/L)	123.67 ± 21.37	147.04 ± 12.70	P < 0.0001
Hematocrit (L/L)	0.38 ± 0.06	0.44 ± 0.04	P < 0.0001
Mean corpuscular volume (fL)	84.69 ± 8.29	89.22 ± 4.06	P = 0.0856
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (pg)	27.30 ± 3.50	29.93 ± 1.77	P = 0.0001
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (g/L)	322.94 ± 17.84	335.38 ± 9.44	P < 0.0001
Red blood cell distribution width (%)	14.85 ± 3.70	13.13 ± 0.82	P = 0.1911
Platelet count (109/L)	315.58 ± 124.55	259.96 ± 73.98	P = 0.0479
Aspartate transaminase (U/L)	25.95 ± 20.22	26.52 ± 6.94	P = 0.0155
Alanine transaminase (U/L)	22.14 ± 12.74	28.62 ± 12.32	P = 0.0047
Gamma-glutamyl transferase (U/L)	75.07 ± 130.37	37.84 ± 31.74	P = 1.0000
Plasma glucose (mmol/L)	5.71 ± 1.23	5.84 ± 1.94	P = 1.0000
Creatinine (µmol/L)	78.26 ± 20.06	74.82 ± 15.28	P = 1.0000
Estimated glomerular filtration rate [mL/(min × 1.73 m2)]	81.39 ± 17.00	87.21 ± 12.42	P = 0.7308
Interleukin-6 (pg/mL)	13.79 ± 28.41	3.23 ± 1.69	P = 0.0005
CD40 ligand (pg/mL)	273.92 ± 309.03	191.84 ± 191.82	P = 1.0000
Thrombopoietin (pg/mL)	43.59 ± 30.76	26.41 ± 24.15	P = 0.0029
Known comorbidities, n (%)
Type 2 diabetes mellitus	25 (23.6)	16 (32.0)	P = 1.0000
Hypertension	68 (64.2)	26 (52.0)	P = 0.8157
Major cardiovascular event(s) prior CRC	21 (19.8)	6 (12.0)	P = 1.0000
Platelet aggregation inhibition, n (%)	23 (21.7)	18 (36.0)	P = 0.5517

CRC: Colorectal cancer.

Table 2 Clinico-histopathological features of colorectal cancer patients

Parameter	Number of observations
AJCC staging[16], n (%)
Stage I	27 (25.5)
Stage II	26 (24.5)
Stage III	24 (22.6)
Stage IV	29 (27.4)
Regional lymph node metastasis, n (%)
N0	57 (53.8)
N1+	49 (46.2)
Development of distant metastasis after the tumor removal surgery, n (%)	14 (13.2)
Side of CRC, n (%)
Left-sided	75 (70.8)
Right-sided	31 (29.2)
Chemotherapy, n (%)
None	51 (48.1)
Adjuvant	21 (19.8)
First-line	11 (10.4)
Second-line	13 (12.3)
Third or later-line	10 (9.4)
Usage of biological therapy, n (%)	22 (20.8)

AJCC: American Joint Committee on Cancer; CRC: Colorectal cancer.

Table 3 Results of general linear models investigating the effect of thrombocytosis on CD40 ligand

Parameter	Individual effect P value	Multiple effect P value	Multiple effect P value
Interleukin-6 (pg/mL)	0.0130	0.1720	0.0454
Thrombopoietin (pg/mL)	0.1620	0.2393	0.1785
Platelet count (109/L)	0.0045	0.0043	-
Presence of thrombocytosis	0.0155	-	0.0138