Fig. 3

Impact of different level of tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis and tumor size on overall and recurrence-free survival. (a) The overall survival of the high MLVD group (n = 50) was significantly worse than the low MLVD group (n = 56; p < 0.001). (b) The recurrence-free survival of the high MLVD (n = 50) was also significantly unfavorable than the low MLVD group (n = 56; p < 0.001). (c) Overall survival according to tumor size category revealed that patients with tumors ≥50 mm (n = 61) had worse outcomes than those with < 50 mm (n = 45; p = 0.0017). (d) Patients with tumors ≥50 mm (n = 61) also had much worse recurrence-free survival compared with those with < 50 mm (n = 45; p = 0.0018)