Table 3.
Comparison of risk groups on demographic or treatment characteristics and other prognostic markers
| Parameter |
Low Risk (CTC-L) CTC = 0 |
Medium Risk (CTC-M)CTC1-4 |
High Risk (CTC-H) CTC > =5 |
TOTAL |
Association with LMH p-Value | Association with OS p-value (HR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/NG | % | N/NG | % | N/NG | % | N/NG | % | |||
| Patients with age at TSE >50 |
16/20 |
80 |
13/15 |
87 |
14/24 |
58 |
43/59 |
73 |
n.s. |
n.s. |
| Patients with age at BC diagnosis >50 |
9/20 |
45 |
10/15 |
67 |
11/24 |
46 |
30/59 |
51 |
n.s. |
n.s. |
| T3/T4 at BC diagnosis |
2/16 |
12.5 |
4/10 |
40 |
5/20 |
25 |
11/46 |
24 |
n.s. |
<0.01 (HR = 5.1) |
| N0 at BC diagnosis (NX = missing value) |
7/16 |
44 |
2/10 |
20 |
2/19 |
10.5 |
11/45 |
24 |
0.03 (CAX) |
0.001 |
| ER/PR at least one positive |
15/19 |
79 |
8/13 |
61.5 |
18/22 |
82 |
41/54 |
76 |
n.s. |
0.02 (HR = 0.37) |
| HER2 overexpressed |
4/14 |
29 |
2/11 |
18 |
4/21 |
19 |
10/46 |
22 |
n.s. |
n.s. |
| CA 15–3 above normal value of 31.3 (≤ 30 days before TSE) |
9/13 |
69 |
6/9 |
67 |
18/18 |
100 |
33/40 |
85 |
0.02 (FSHX) 0.03 (CAX) |
n.s. |
| CRP above normal value of 5 (≤ 30 days before TSE) |
3/12 |
25 |
5/8 |
62.5 |
13/19 |
68 |
21/39 |
54 |
0.03 (CAX) |
n.s. |
| Visceral metastases |
8/20 |
40 |
7/14 |
50 |
10/23 |
43.5 |
25/57 |
44 |
n.s. |
n.s. |
| Nonvisceral metastases |
20/20 |
100 |
12/14 |
86 |
22/23 |
96 |
54/57 |
95 |
n.s. |
n.s |
| Bone metastases |
14/20 |
70 |
6/14 |
43 |
20/23 |
87 |
40/57 |
70 |
0.02 (FSHX) |
n.s. |
| No. of metastatic sites > =2 |
9/20 |
45 |
8/14 |
57 |
11/23 |
48 |
28/57 |
49 |
n.s. |
0.02 (HR = 2.8) |
| Surgery of primary tumor |
17/20 |
85 |
13/15 |
87 |
19/24 |
79 |
49/59 |
83 |
n.s. |
n.s. |
| Radiation therapy |
14/19 |
74 |
9/13 |
69 |
16/22 |
73 |
39/54 |
72 |
n.s. |
n.s. |
| Chemotherapy |
14/18 |
78 |
10/14 |
71 |
17/21 |
81 |
41/53 |
77 |
n.s. |
n.s. |
| Mistletoe therapy |
20/20 |
100 |
15/15 |
100 |
24/24 |
100 |
59/59 |
100 |
- |
- |
| Anti-hormone therapy |
16/19 |
84 |
8/13 |
61.5 |
19/23 |
83 |
43/55 |
78 |
n.s. |
0.01 (HR = 0.34) |
| Bisphosponate therapy |
11/17 |
65 |
6/14 |
43 |
17/19 |
89.5 |
34/50 |
68 |
0.03 (FSHX) |
n.s. |
| Patients with ≥2 known therapy lines | 15/20 | 75 | 6/15 | 40 | 14/24 | 58 | 35/59 | 59 | n.s. | n.s. |
N is the number of patients, NG denotes the number of patients with non-missing values in the respective group. P-values are given if significant (p < 0.05), n.s. denotes “not significant”. LMH denotes the prognostic marker which differentiates between low (L), medium (M) and high (H) CTC levels. Risk groups are compared by the exact Cochrane Armitage trend test (CAX) or Fishers Exact Test (FSHX). Time of study entry (TSE) is defined as time of baseline blood draw. For each parameter in the table the univariate prognostic value for overall survival (OS) prediction is given in the last column. P-Values and Hazard Rates (HR) in this column are computed by Cox Proportional Hazard Regression; except for “N0 at BC diagnosis” the logrank test was used because of no events (deaths) in the reference group.