Figure 1

Flow Cytometric and ELISA Analysis among Patients With and Without HCC and in Normal Control Subjects. A) Circulating number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). For CD31/CD34+ cells, * vs. †, p < 0.04. For CXCR4+/CD34+ cells, * vs. †, p < 0.03. HCC (−) = without hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 66); HCC (+) = with hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 12). B) Plasma level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). * vs. †, p < 0.035. C) Plasma level of stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α. * vs. †, p < 0.04. Symbols (*, †) indicate significant difference (at 0.05 level) (by Wilcoxon rank sum test with Bonferroni’s correction).