Baseline characteristics of patients in the training, internal, and external validation cohorts
| Characteristic | Patients, No. (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training cohort (n = 304) | Internal validation cohort (n = 307) | Internal neoadjuvant therapy cohort (n = 303) | External neoadjuvant chemotherapy cohort (n = 90) | |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 59.4 (10.2) | 59.0 (9.6) | 60.4 (8.9) | 59.2 (10.1) |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 226 (74.3) | 250 (81.4) | 249 (82.2) | 64 (71.1) |
| Female | 78 (25.7) | 57 (18.6) | 54 (17.8) | 26 (28.9) |
| CEA, ng/mL | ||||
| <5 | 234 (77.0) | 250 (81.4) | 198 (65.3) | 61 (67.8) |
| ≥5 | 70 (23.0) | 57 (18.6) | 105 (34.7) | 29 (32.2) |
| CA 19-9, U/mL | ||||
| <37 | 229 (75.3) | 234 (76.2) | 230 (75.9) | 64 (71.1) |
| ≥37 | 75 (24.7) | 73 (23.8) | 73 (24.1) | 26 (28.9) |
| Primary tumor location | ||||
| Proximal | 102 (33.6) | 104 (33.9) | 139 (45.9) | 21 (23.3) |
| Body | 72 (23.7) | 72 (23.5) | 82 (27.1) | 25 (27.8) |
| Antrum | 130 (42.8) | 131 (42.7) | 82 (27.1) | 44 (48.9) |
| Pathologic T stage | ||||
| pT1–2 | 26 (8.6) | 36 (11.7) | — | — |
| pT3–4 | 278 (91.4) | 271 (88.3) | — | — |
| Pathologic N stage | ||||
| pN0–1 | 106 (34.9) | 105 (34.2) | — | — |
| pN2–3 | 198 (65.1) | 202 (65.8) | — | — |
| Pathologic TNM stage | ||||
| pStage II | 85 (28.0) | 96 (31.3) | — | — |
| pStage III | 219 (72.0) | 211 (68.7) | — | — |
| Neoadjuvant therapy | ||||
| Chemotherapy | — | — | 202 (66.7) | 90 (100) |
| Immunotherapy | — | — | 101 (33.3) | 0 (0) |
| Adjuvant chemotherapy | ||||
| No | 54 (17.8) | 52 (16.9) | — | — |
| Yes | 250 (82.2) | 255 (83.1) | — | — |
| TRG | ||||
| 0 | — | — | 33 (10.9) | 6 (6.7) |
| 1 | — | — | 36 (11.9) | 13 (14.4) |
| 2 | — | — | 112 (37.0) | 30 (33.3) |
| 3 | — | — | 122 (40.3) | 41 (45.6) |
| TLS class | ||||
| Immature TLS | 173 (56.9) | 162 (52.8) | — | — |
| Mature TLS | 131 (43.1) | 145 (47.2) | — | |
No, number; SD, standard deviation; TRG, tumor regression grade; TLS, tertiary lymphoid structure.