Table 4. Clinical characteristics according if patients had five or more CTCs before surgery.
| Clinical characteristics | CTC <5 (n=125) | CTC ≥5 (n=55) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, n (%) | 0.622 | ||
| Male | 84 (67.2) | 39 (70.9) | |
| Female | 41 (32.8) | 16 (29.1) | |
| Age, years, mean (95% CI) | 65.5 (64.8–68.1) | 65.7 (63.5–67.8) | 0.585 |
| SUVmax, mean (95% CI) | 9.2 (8.0–10.4) | 8.9 (7.3–10.5) | 0.758 |
| Stage, n (%) | 0.144 | ||
| IA | 39 (31.2) | 13 (23.6) | |
| IB | 24 (19.2) | 20 (36.4) | |
| IIA | 17 (13.6) | 4 (7.3) | |
| IIB | 14 (11.2) | 5 (9.1) | |
| IIIA | 31 (24.8) | 13 (23.6) | |
| Histology, n (%) | 0.193 | ||
| Adenocarcinoma | 65 (52.0) | 34 (61.8) | |
| Squamous cell | 49 (39.2) | 14 (25.5) | |
| Other histologies | 11 (8.8) | 7 (12.7) | |
| Relapse, n (%) | 36 (28.8) | 18 (32.7) | 0.596 |
| Pattern of relapse, n (%) | 0.994 | ||
| Multiple | 9 (42.9) | 4 (44.4) | |
| Oligometastatic | 12 (57.1) | 5 (55.6) |
CTCs, circulating tumor cells; SUVmax, maximum standardized uptake value.