Table 3. Different CTC subpopulations based on different hormone receptor statuses of the primary tumor.

CTC subpopulations	HR status of the primary tumor		Mann-Whiteney u	P value
	Positive	Negative
E+ CTCs	158 (41.7%)	95 (30.5%)	Z= −3.569	<0.001
E+/M+ CTCs	104 (27.4%)	82 (26.4%)
M+ CTCs	117 (30.9%)	134 (43.1%)