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

Table 1 Baseline characteristics and plasma levels of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, and vascular endothelial growth factor

Characteristic	HCC patients (n = 240)
Age, mean age ± SD, year	60.9 ± 11.2
Male sex, n (%)	193 (80.4)
BMI, mean ± SD, kg/m2	24.1 ± 3.0
Etiology, n (%)
HBV/HCV/HBV + HCV	167 (69.6)/24 (10)/2 (0.8)
Alcohol/Others	28 (11.7)/19 (7.9)
Presence of cirrhosis, n (%)	184 (76.7)
Child-Pugh score, n (%)
A/B/C	204 (85.1)/35 (14.5)/1 (0.4)
ECOG performance status, n (%)
0/1–2/3	156 (65)/80 (33.3)/4 (1.7)
Maximal tumor size, median (IQR), cm	3.6 (2.0–7.0)
Multi-nodularity of tumor, n (%)	105 (43.8)
Vascular invasion of HCC, n (%)	45 (18.8)
Presence of distant metastasis, n (%)	18 (7.5)
BCLC staging, n (%)
0/A	52 (21.7)/81 (33.8)
B/C/D	43 (17.9)/59 (24.6)/5 (2.1)
TNM staging, n (%)
I/II	115 (48.0)/42 (17.5)
III/IV	65 (27.1)/18 (7.5)
Initial treatment, n (%)
Resection	34 (14.2)
RFA/TACE	27 (11.3)/165 (69.2)
Sorafenib/BSC	2 (0.8)/11 (4.6)
Laboratory results
WBC, median (IQR), × 103/uL	5.1 (4.0–6.6)
Hemoglobin, median (IQR), g/dL	13.6 (12.0–14.8)
Platelet count, median (IQR), × 109/uL	130 (88–184)
Prothrombin time, median (IQR), INR	1.11 (1.04–1.18)
AST, median (IQR), IU/mL	45 (32–73)
ALT, median (IQR), IU/mL	38 (23–61)
Albumin; median (IQR), g/dL	4.0 (3.5–4.2)
Total bilirubin, median (IQR), mg/dL	0.8 (0.5–1.1)
Creatinine, median (IQR), mg/dL	0.8 (0.7–1.0)
AFP, median (IQR), ng/mL	17.9 (4.0–698)
Angiogenesis marker
Ang-1, median (IQR), pg/mL	3216 (1565–6266)
Ang-2, median (IQR), pg/mL	1684 (1107–3064)
Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio, median (IQR)	0.56 (0.25–1.39)
VEGF, median (IQR), pg/mL	26.5 (13.8–51.3)
NLR, mean ± SD	2.8 ± 3.5
PLR, mean ± SD	118.2 ± 119.7

AFP: α-feto protein; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; BMI: Body mass index; BCLC: Barcelona clinic liver cancer; BSC: Best supportive care; ECOG: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; IQR: Interquartile range; NLR: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio; SD: Standard deviation; TNM: Tumor-node-metastasis; PLR: Platelet-lymphocyte ratio; VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor; WBC: White blood cell.