Table 1. Patient characteristics (n=290).
| N | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age; years (range) | 54 (23–84) | |
| Median baseline CTC (range) | 2 (0–1780) | |
| Line of therapy | ||
| 1 | 123 | 42.41 |
| 2 or more | 167 | 57.59 |
| Estrogen and progesteron receptor | ||
| Positive for both | 192 | 66.21 |
| Negative for either | 98 | 33.79 |
| HER2/neu amplified | ||
| No | 227 | 78.28 |
| Yes | 62 | 21.38 |
| Unknown | 1 | 0.34 |
| Inflammatory breast cancer | ||
| No | 222 | 76.55 |
| Yes | 68 | 23.45 |
| Visceral metastasis | ||
| No | 109 | 37.59 |
| Yes | 181 | 62.41 |
| Bone metastasis | ||
| No | 88 | 30.34 |
| Yes | 202 | 69.66 |
| Number of sites of metastasis | ||
| 1 | 100 | 34.48 |
| 2 | 89 | 30.69 |
| 3 | 55 | 18.97 |
| ⩾4 | 46 | 15.86 |
| Chemotherapy | ||
| No | 36 | 12.41 |
| Yes | 254 | 87.59 |
| Bevacizumab-based therapy | 60 | 20.69 |
| Hormonal therapy | ||
| No | 164 | 56.55 |
| Yes | 126 | 43.45 |
| Erythropoietin-stimulating agents | ||
| No | 256 | 88.28 |
| Yes | 34 | 11.72 |
| Port-a-catheter and/or central venous device | ||
| No | 211 | 72.76 |
| Yes | 79 | 27.24 |
| Arterial hypertension | ||
| No | 188 | 64.83 |
| Yes | 102 | 35.17 |
| Diabetes mellitus | ||
| No | 255 | 87.93 |
| Yes | 35 | 12.07 |
Abbreviation: CTC=circulating tumour cells.