Table 1.
Presence of CTCs and clinical outcome in non-metastatic BC patients.
| Reference | Patients | Number of patients | CTC positivity | Method | Median follow-up (months) | Association between CTCs and survival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janni et al. (16) pooled analysisa | Stages I–III | 3173 | 641 (20%) | CellSearch | 63 | DFS, DDFS, BCSS, OS |
| Rack et al. (13), SUCCESS trial | Stages I–III, node-positive or high-risk node-negative, all pts. received chemotherapy | 2026 | 435 (21%) | CellSearch | 36 | DFS, DDFS, BCSS, OS |
| Franken et al. (15) | Stages I–III | 404 | 76 (19%) | CellSearch | 48 | DDFS, BCSS |
| Lucci et al. (23) | Stages I–III | 302 | 73 (24%) | CellSearch | 35 | DFS, OS |
| Bidard et al. (14), REMAGUS02 trial | Neoadjuvant trial, Stages II and III, ineligible for breast conserving surgery at diagnosis or high-risk | 95 | 22 (23%) | CellSearch | 70 | DDFS, OS |
| Molloy et al. (24) | Stages I and II | 733 | 58 (8%) | qRT-PCR (CK19, p1B, EGP-2, PS2, and MmGI) | 91 | MFS, BCSS |
| Ignatiadis et al. (17) | Stages I–III, all pts. received adjuvant chemotherapy | 444 | 181 (41%) | RT-PCR (CK19) | 54 | DFS, OS |
| Kuniyoshi et al. (25) | Stages I–III | 167 | RT-PCR (CK19, c-erbB-2) | n.s. | ||
| Hwang et al. (19) | Stages I–IIIa | 166 | 37 (22%) | RT-PCR (CK20) | 100 | MFS, OS |