Table 3.
Kaplan-Meier progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) estimates stratified by CTC level and patient and tumor characteristics in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic IBC
| Progression-free survival | Overall survival | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Hazard ratio | Lower 95% CI | Upper 95% CI | P value | Hazard ratio | Lower 95% CI | Upper 95% CI | P value |
| All patients | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.40 | 0.21 | 0.75 | 0.03 | 0.29 | 0.14 | 0.62 | 0.03 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.76 | 0.43 | 1.31 | 0.30 | 0.65 | 0.35 | 1.19 | 0.15 |
| ER/PR positive for either | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.30 | 0.13 | 0.67 | 0.03 | 0.14 | 0.05 | 0.37 | 0.02 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.57 | 0.27 | 1.20 | 0.13 | 0.54 | 0.24 | 1.22 | 0.14 |
| ER/PR negative for both | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.69 | 0.24 | 2.00 | 0.54 | 0.64 | 0.19 | 2.19 | 0.54 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.97 | 0.41 | 2.27 | 0.94 | 0.67 | 0.26 | 1.73 | 0.37 |
| HER-2/neu positive | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.22 | 0.05 | 0.90 | 0.11 | NA a | NA a | NA a | 0.11 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.82 | 0.20 | 3.32 | 0.78 | 0.48 | 0.10 | 2.36 | 0.38 |
| HER-2/neu negative | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.75 | 0.32 | 1.72 | 0.53 | 0.52 | 0.21 | 1.29 | 0.26 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.66 | 0.36 | 1.22 | 0.16 | 0.58 | 0.30 | 1.14 | 0.09 |
| Triple negative | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.92 | 0.22 | 3.79 | 0.91 | 0.79 | 0.20 | 3.04 | 0.74 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.34 | 0.10 | 1.14 | 0.01 | 0.35 | 0.10 | 1.28 | 0.02 |
| High Grade | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.38 | 0.19 | 0.77 | 0.03 | 0.23 | 0.10 | 0.54 | 0.03 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.61 | 0.31 | 1.18 | 0.11 | 0.54 | 0.26 | 1.12 | 0.08 |
| Low/intermediate grade | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.75 | 0.12 | 4.54 | 0.77 | 1.05 | 0.13 | 8.45 | 0.96 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 1.30 | 0.44 | 3.87 | 0.61 | 0.87 | 0.28 | 2.71 | 0.81 |
| Visceral metastases | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.13 | 0.05 | 0.32 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.66 | 0.30 | 1.45 | 0.28 | 0.49 | 0.21 | 1.16 | 0.07 |
| Non-visceral metastases | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.66 | 0.28 | 1.56 | 0.39 | 0.62 | 0.22 | 1.77 | 0.44 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.87 | 0.40 | 1.88 | 0.71 | 0.78 | 0.33 | 1.83 | 0.55 |
| Bone metastasis | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.29 | 0.13 | 0.66 | 0.03 | 0.18 | 0.06 | 0.50 | 0.06 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.67 | 0.31 | 1.43 | 0.28 | 0.51 | 0.22 | 1.20 | 0.12 |
| No-bone metastasis | ||||||||
| <1 CTC vs. ≥ 1 CTC | 0.56 | 0.21 | 1.51 | 0.33 | 0.47 | 0.16 | 1.41 | 0.29 |
| <5 CTC vs. ≥ 5 CTC | 0.78 | 0.34 | 1.79 | 0.55 | 0.78 | 0.32 | 1.87 | 0.56 |
ER, estrogen receptor; NR, not reached; PR, progesterone receptor; NA, not applicable.
aNo events in patients with fewer than one CTCs.