Table 2. CTC prevalence and numbers are lowest in stage IV CRC patients with lung and liver metastases.
| Total | Lung metastases | Liver metastases | Diffuse metastases | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | 90 | 19 (21%) | 31 (34%) | 40 (45%) | ||
| CTCs detectable | 36/90 (40%) | 2/19 (11%) | 10/31 (32%) | 24/40 (60%) | <0.001a | |
| CTCs ≥ 3 | 13/90 (14%) | 0/19 (0%) | 4/31 (13%) | 9/40 (23%) | 0.07a | |
| CTC number: | ||||||
| Mean (± SEM) | 2.0 (± 0.8) | 0.1 (± 0.1) | 0.9 (± 0.3) | 3.7 (± 1.7) | ||
| Median (range) | 0 (0–56.3) | 0 (0–1.0) | 0 (0–7.0) | 0.6 (0–56.3) | 0.001b |
SEM, standard error of the mean. aFisher exact test; bKruskal–Wallis test.