Figure 4. The presence of CTC-clusters in patients with cancer correlates with poor prognosis.

A) Representative images of a CTC-cluster, a single CTC and a white blood cell (WBC) isolated from a breast cancer patient using the ^HBCTC-Chip and stained with wide-spectrum cytokeratin (CK, red), CD45 (green) and DAPI (nuclei, blue). B) A total of 79 breast cancer patients (corresponding to 265 timepoints) were analyzed for the presence of CTCs, with 54 of the 79 patients scoring positive for CTCs. The bar graph shows the percentage of CTC-positive patients having CTC-clusters during more than three time points (red), CTC-clusters across one to three time points (blue) or single CTCs only (black). C) Kaplan-Meier progression-free survival plot showing progression rates for breast cancer patients having CTC-clusters during more than three time points (red), CTC-clusters across one to three time points (blue) or single CTCs only (black). The mean progression-free survival time for each group is given in parentheses. p=0.0002 by Log-rank test. D) Representative images of a CTC-cluster, a single CTC and a white blood cell (WBC) isolated from a prostate cancer patient using the ^HBCTC-Chip and stained with prostate-specific antigen (PSA, red), prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA, yellow), CD45 (green) and DAPI (nuclei, blue). B) A total of 64 prostate cancer patients (corresponding to 202 timepoints) were analyzed for the presence of CTCs, with 48 of the 64 patients scoring positive for CTCs. The bar graph shows the percentage of CTC-positive patients having CTC-clusters during at least one time point (red) or single CTCs only (black). C) Kaplan-Meier overall survival plot showing progression rates for prostate cancer patients having CTC-clusters during at least one time point (red) or single CTCs only (black). The mean overall survival time for each group is given in parentheses. p=0.0001 by Log-rank test.

See also Table S1.