Increased KIF21B expression is a potential prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Correlation between KIF21B expression and clinicopathological characteristics

Characteristic	n	KIF21B expression		P value
		Low	High
Age (yr)				0.877
> 55	115	42	73
≤ 55	71	27	44
Gender				0.286
Male	102	34	68
Female	84	35	49
Tumor size (cm)				0.229
> 5	89	29	60
≤ 5	97	40	57
Liver cirrhosis				0.543
Yes	103	36	67
No	83	33	50
TNM stage				0.046a
I-II	105	32	73
III-IV	81	37	44
HBsAg				0.003b
Yes	110	31	79
No	76	38	38
AFP (ng/mL)				0.061
> 400	112	40	72
≤ 400	74	29	45
Vascular invasion				0.012a
Yes	117	35	82
No	69	34	35

P < 0.05 was considered significant,

^aP < 0.05,

^bP < 0.01; Statistical analyses were performed using the χ² test.

Table 2 Univariate and multivariate analyses of overall survival in 186 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Variable			Overall survival
		Univariate			Multivariate
	HR	95%CI	P value	HR	95%CI	P value
Age (> 55 yr vs ≤ 55 yr)	0.489	0.195-1.225	0.293
Gender (Male vs Female)	0.726	0.291-1.809	0.491
Tumor size (> 5 cm vs ≤ 5 cm)	1.536	0.549-4.297	0.414
Liver cirrhosis (Yes vs No)	2.145	1.083-4.251	0.029a	1.188	0.712-1.81	0.510
TNM stage (I-II vs III-IV)	0.718	0.387-1.333	0.294
HBsAg (Yes vs No)	0.844	0.476-1.495	0.560
AFP (> 400 ng/mL vs ≤ 400 ng/mL)	1.576	0.842-2.949	0.155
Vascular invasion (Yes vs No)	0.554	0.233-1.316	0.181
KIF21B expression (low vs high)	0.212	0.093-0.482	< 0.001b	0.264	0.130-0.539	< 0.001b

P < 0.05 was considered significant,

^aP < 0.05,

^bP < 0.01. Statistical analyses were performed using Cox regression analysis.

Table 3 Univariate and multivariate analyses of disease-free survival in 186 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Variable			Disease-free survival
		Univariate			Multivariate
	HR	95%CI	P value	HR	95%CI	P value
Age (> 55 yr vs ≤ 55 yr)	0.413	0.188-0.909	0.028a	0.464	0.284-0.759	0.002b
Gender (Male vs Female)	0.636	0.281-1.439	0.277
Tumor size (> 5 cm vs ≤ 5 cm)	1.928	0.775-4.975	0.158
Liver cirrhosis (Yes vs No)	1.285	0.724-2.280	0.392
TNM stage (I-IIvs III-IV)	0.709	0.423-1.188	0.192
HBsAg (Yes vs No)	0.790	0.480-1.313	0.356
AFP (> 400 ng/mL vs ≤ 400 ng/mL)	1.116	0.657-1.896	0.684
Vascular invasion (Yes vs No)	0.905	0.410-1.997	0.805
KIF21B expression (low vs high)	0.320	0.168-0.611	0.001b	0.373	0.216-0.643	< 0.001b

P < 0.05 was considered significant,

^aP < 0.05,

^bP < 0.01. Statistical analyses were performed using Cox regression analysis.