Characteristics of NPC patients in 3 different risk (ΔCONUT-EBV DNA score) groups
| Characteristics | LRG N = 217 (%) | MRG N = 170 (%) | HRG N = 46 (%) | P | Bonferroni holm corrected P | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRG vs. MRG | LRG vs. HRG | MRG vs. HGR | LRG vs. MRG | LRG vs. HRG | MRG vs. HGR | ||||
| Age (years) | 0.033 | 0.184 | 1.000 | 0.099 | 0.552 | 1.000 | |||
| ≤46 | 127 (58.5) | 81 (47.6) | 22 (47.8) | ||||||
| >46 | 90 (41.5) | 89 (52.4) | 24 (52.2) | ||||||
| Gender | 0.051 | 0.042 | 0.234 | 0.153 | 0.126 | 0.702 | |||
| Female | 65 (30.0) | 42 (24.7) | 7 (15.2) | ||||||
| Male | 152 (70.0) | 128 (75.3) | 39 (84.8) | ||||||
| UICC T stage | 0.248 | 0.702 | 0.162 | 0.744 | 1.000 | 0.486 | |||
| 1 | 12 (5.5) | 4 (2.4) | 4 (8.7) | ||||||
| 2 | 42 (19.4) | 28 (16.5) | 10 (21.7) | ||||||
| 3 | 127 (58.5) | 101 (59.4) | 23 (50.0) | ||||||
| 4 | 36 (16.8) | 37 (21.8) | 9 (19.6) | ||||||
| UICC N stage | 0.001 | <0.001 | 0.334 | 0.003 | <0.001 | 1.000 | |||
| 0 | 38 (17.5) | 13 (7.6) | 1 (2.2) | ||||||
| 1 | 101 (46.5) | 65 (38.2) | 17 (37.0) | ||||||
| 2 | 67 (30.9) | 75 (44.1) | 20 (43.5) | ||||||
| 3 | 11 (5.1) | 17 (10.0) | 8 (17.4) | ||||||
| Clinical stage | 0.002 | 0.119 | 0.263 | 0.006 | 0.357 | 0.789 | |||
| II | 26 (12.0) | 6 (3.5) | 4 (8.7) | ||||||
| III | 146 (67.3) | 111 (65.3) | 26 (56.5) | ||||||
| IV | 45 (20.7) | 53 (31.2) | 16 (34.8) | ||||||
| WHO histology | 1.000 | 0.704 | 0.679 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |||
| II | 7 (3.2) | 6 (3.5) | 2 (4.3) | ||||||
| III | 210 (96.8) | 164 (96.5) | 44 (95.7) | ||||||
| Smoking status | 0.440 | 0.127 | 0.451 | 1.000 | 0.381 | 1.000 | |||
| Non-smoker | 143 (65.9) | 102 (60.0) | 23 (50.0) | ||||||
| Ex-smoker | 13 (6.0) | 10 (5.9) | 4 (8.7) | ||||||
| Current smoker | 61 (28.1) | 58 (34.1) | 19 (41.3) | ||||||
| VCA IgA | 0.023 | 0.412 | 0.554 | 0.069 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |||
| ≤80 | 70 (32.3) | 37 (21.8) | 12 (26.1) | ||||||
| >80 | 147 (67.7) | 133 (78.2) | 34 (73.9) | ||||||
| EA IgA | 0.012 | 0.940 | 0.131 | 0.036 | 1.000 | 0.393 | |||
| ≤20 | 145 (66.8) | 92 (54.1) | 31 (67.4) | ||||||
| >20 | 72 (33.2) | 78 (45.9) | 15 (32.6) | ||||||
NPC, nasopharyngeal carcinoma; LRG, low-risk group = ΔCONUT-EBV DNA Score 1 (EBV DNA ≤ 2,110 copies/mL); MRG, middle-risk group = ΔCONUT-EBV DNA Score 2 (both ΔCONUT Score ≤ 3 and EBV DNA > 2,110 copies/mL); HRG, high-risk group = ΔCONUT-EBV DNA Score 3 (both ΔCONUT Score > 3 and EBV DNA > 2,110 copies/mL); CONUT, controlling nutritional status score; N stage, node stage; T stage, tumor stage; UICC, Union for International Cancer Control; WHO, World Health Organization; EBV DNA, Epstein-Barr virus deoxyribonucleic acid; VCA, viral capsid antigen; EA, early antigen; IgA, immunoglobulin a.