Table 3.
Prognostic value of CTCs in metastatic breast cancer patients.
| Reference | Number of patients | Method | CTC positivity | Association between CTCs and survival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bidard et al. (53) | 1944 | CellSearch | 47%a | PFS, OS |
| Smerage et al. (54) | 564 | CellSearch | 51%a | PFS, OS |
| Wallwiener et al. (52) | 486 | CellSearch | 42% | PFS, OS |
| Giordano et al. (51) | 517 | CellSearch | 40%a | PFS, OS |
| Pierga et al. (55) | 267 | CellSearch | 44%a | PFS, OS |
| Müller et al. (56) | 254 | CellSearch AdnaTest | CSS: 50%a AT: 40% | CellSearch: OS AdnaTest: n.s. |
| Giuliano et al. (50) | 235 | CellSearch | 40%a | PFS, OS |
| Nakamura et al. (57) | 107 | CellSearch | 37%a | PFS |
| Liu et al. (58) | 74 | CellSearch | n.s. | PFS |
| Tewes et al. (59) | 42 | AdnaTest | 52% | OS |
| Bidard et al. (60) | 37 | Immunocytochemistry | 41% | OS |
| Nole et al. (61) | 80 | CellSearch | 61% | PFS |
| Hayes et al. (49) | 177 | CellSearch | 54% | PFS, OSb |
| Budd et al. (48) | 138 | CellSearch | 43% | OS |
| Cristofanilli et al. (47) | 177 | CellSearch | 49% | PFS, OS |
PFS, progression-free survival; OS, overall survival.
a≥5 CTCs.
bAt any time during palliative treatment.