Decreased of BAFF-R expression and B cells maturation in patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients and healthy controls

	Healthy controls (n = 9)	Patients without HCC (n = 25)	Patients with HCC (n = 16)	P value
Sex (males)	4 (44.4%)	12 (48.0%)	13 (81.3%)	0.072
Age, yr	27.6 (25-34)	42.8 (20-77)	60.8 (34-77)	< 0.001c
Hemoglobin (g/dL)		13.3 ± 1.5	12.1 ± 1.9	0.082
Hematocrit (%)		41.4 ± 4.1	36.7 ± 5.7	0.008b
Platelets count (103/µL)		246.4 ± 56.7	180.1 ± 80.8	0.007b
White cell count (103/µL)		6.5 ± 2.2	6.1 ± 2.0	0.59
INR		1.0 ± 0.1	1.1 ± 0.2	0.34
AST (U/L)		48.9 ± 42.2	80.0 ± 65.0	0.07
ALT (U/L)		75.8 ± 83.1	56.9 ± 32.3	0.407
ALP (mg/L)		59.3 ± 14.3	177.5 ± 118.0	0.066
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)		0.7 ± 0.1	0.8 ± 0.4	0.757
Albumin (g/dL)		4.5 ± 0.3	3.4 ± 0.6	0.001b
AFP (IU/mL)		2.4 ± 2.2	4810.2 ± 10236.1	0.531
log10 HBV DNA (IU/mL)		5.4 ± 2.6	3.0 ± 1.9	0.066
BAFF (pg/mL)		914.8 ± 159.3	1208.8 ± 386.1	0.042a
BCLC stage
A-B			12 (75.0%)
C			4 (25.0%)

Data expressed as mean ± SD or n (%) as appropriate;

^aP < 0.05;

^bP < 0.01;

^cP < 0.001. INR: International normalized ratio; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; BAFF: B cell-activating factor; BCLC: Barcelona clinic liver cancer.