Clinical significance and usefulness of soluble heparin binding-epidermal growth factor in gastric cancer

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of subjects in each group

Groups	Control2 (n = 60)	High-risk3 (n = 30)	EGC (n = 37)	AGC (n = 30)	P value4
Clinical features
Age (mean ± SD, yr)	56.5 ± 11.1	66.2 ± 7.6	58.3 ± 10.6	56.3 ± 10.3	0.856
Sex (male:female, n)	37:23	19:11	22:15	17:13	0.953
H. pylori infection (-/+, n)	35:25	17:13	22:15	20:10	0.857
Histopathological features
Histology (well:mod:poorly:signet)	NS	NS	14:9:7:7	2:6:16:6	0.006
Tumor location (lower:middle:upper)1	NS	NS	20:13:4	18:9:3	0.884
Size of tumor (mean ± SD, cm)	NS	NS	3.9 ± 1.2	5.0 ± 1.3	0.010
T-stage (T1a:T1b:T2:T3:T4)	NS	NS	31:6:0:0:0	0:0:15:4:11	< 0.001
N-stage (N0:N1:N2:N3)	NS	NS	35:2:0:0	15:2:4:9	< 0.001
Distant metastasis (M0:M1)	NS	NS	37:0	25:5	< 0.001
Overall stage (I:II:III:IV)	NS	NS	37:0:0:0	7:12:6:5	< 0.001

¹Tumor location is divided into three areas: lower third (antrum-angle), middle third (low body-middle body), and upper third (upper body-cardia).

²Control group includes individuals with normal mucosa or patients with simple chronic superficial gastritis and chronic atrophic gastritis.

³High-risk group included patients with intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia.

⁴Continuous data were compared by ANOVA test and nominal data by χ² test. P < 0.05 (two-tailed) was considered statistically significant. AGC: Advanced gastric cancer; EGC: Early gastric cancer; H. pylori: Helicobacter pylori; Mod: Moderate-differentiated carcinoma; Poorly: Poorly-differentiated carcinoma; SD: Standard deviation; Signet: Signet ring cell carcinoma; Well: Well-differentiated carcinoma.