Elevated serum alpha fetoprotein levels promote pathological progression of hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma patient cohort (n = 160) (mean ± SD)

	Concentration of AFP (μg/L)
	< 20	20-250	≥ 250
Age (yr)	51.6 ± 9.9	54.6 ± 10.3	51.2 ± 9.8
Sex (male/female)	56/12	29/7	43 /13
ALT (U/L)	58.0 ± 60.0	55.8 ± 48.2	58.7 ± 58.5
Child
A	52	0	47
B	12	5	7
C	4	1	2
HBsAg (+)	56	28	50
HCV (+)	1	1	1
Non-viral	11	7	5

AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; ALT: Alanine transaminase; HBsAg(+): Hepatitis B virus antigen positive; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; Non-viral: Non-viral etiology.

Table 2 Survival of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with different alpha fetoprotein levels over two years

Time (mo)	Survival rates (%) (dead/alive cases)
	< 20 μg/L	20-250 μg/L	≥ 250 μg/L
0	100.0 (0/68)	100.0 (0/36)	100.0 (0/56)
6	95.7 (3/65)	97.2 (1/35)	91.1 (5/51)
12	94.1 (4/64)	97.2 (1/35)	80.4 (11/45)
18	91.2 (6/62)	91.7 (3/33)	73.2 (15/41)
24	86.8 (9/59)	88.9 (4/32)	69.6 (17/39)a

^aP < 0.05 vs serum alpha fetoprotein < 20 μg/L and 20-250 μg/L groups.