Table 3.
Baseline tumor features and treatments in patients with disease confined to a single organ a
| Variable | Overall,N(%) | CTCs <5/7.5 ml,n(%) | CTCs ≥5/7.5 ml,n(%) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall population | 146 (100) | 104 (71.2) | 42 (28.8) | - |
| HR status | ||||
| Positive | 99 (67.8) | 67 (64.4) | 32 (76.2) | ns |
| Negative | 47 (32.2) | 37(35.6) | 10 (23.8) | |
| HER2 status | ||||
| HER2 amplified/overexpressed | 30 (20.6) | 22 (21.2) | 8 (19.1) | ns |
| HER2 normal | 116 (79.4) | 82 (78.8) | 34 (80.9) | |
| Treatment strategy | ||||
| Systemic treatment only | 129 (88.4) | 91 (87.5) | 38 (90.5) | ns |
| Additional locoregional treatment | 17 (11.6)b | 13 (12.5) | 4 (9.5) | |
| Type of systemic treatment | ||||
| Chemotherapy | 101 (69.2) | 70 (67.3) | 31 (73.8) | ns |
| Endocrine therapy | 41 (28.1) | 31 (29.8) | 10 (23.8) | |
| Other | 4 (2.7) | 3 (2.9) | 1 (2.4) | |
| Distribution of metastatic sites | ||||
| Lymph nodes/soft tissues | 50 (34.2) | 41 (39.4) | 9 (21.4) | 0.023 |
| Bone | 68 (46.6) | 41 (39.4) | 27 (64.3) | |
| Viscera | 28 (19.2) | 22 (21.2) | 6 (14.3) |
aCTCs, Circulating tumor cells; HER2, Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, Hormone receptor; ns, Statistically nonsignificant. bAdditional locoregional treatments: surgery in 12 patients (8.2%), radiation therapy in 4 patients (2.7%) and other for 1 patient (0.7%).