Table 2. Associations between presence of HER2-positive CTCs, patient characteristics and clinicopathological characteristics of the primary tumor.
| Clinical variable at baseline | CTC-positive (N = 258) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only HER2-negative CTCs N = 109 | At least one HER2-positive CTC N = 149 | ||
| pT | 0.335 | ||
| 1 | 51 (46.8%) | 69 (46.3%) | |
| 2 | 48 (44.0%) | 71 (47.7%) | |
| 3 | 3 (2.8%) | 6 (4.0%) | |
| 4 | 4 (3.7%) | 1 (0.7%) | |
| missing | 3 (2.8%) | 2 (1.3%) | |
| pN | 0.430 | ||
| 0 | 54 (49.5%) | 81 (54.4%) | |
| + (1,2,3) | 53 (48.6%) | 65 (43.6%) | |
| Missing | 2 (1.8%) | 3 (2.0%) | |
| Histology | 0.048 | ||
| Ductal | 50 (45.9%) | 54 (36.2%) | |
| Lobular | 7 (6.4%) | 4 (2.7%) | |
| Other | 49 (45.0%) | 89 (59.7%) | |
| Missing | 3 (2.8%) | 2 (1.3%) | |
| Grading | 0.976 | ||
| 1 | 1 (0.9%) | 1 (0.7%) | |
| 2 | 40 (36.7%) | 54 (36.2%) | |
| 3 | 66 (60.6%) | 90 (60.4%) | |
| Missing | 2 (1.8%) | 4 (2.7%) | |
| ER status | 0.626 | ||
| negative | 39 (35.8%) | 58 (38.9%) | |
| positive | 68 (62.4%) | 89 (59.7%) | |
| missing | 2 (1.8%) | 2 (1.3%) | |
| PR status | 0.263 | ||
| negative | 43 (39.4%) | 69 (46.3%) | |
| positive | 64 (58.7%) | 77 (51.7%) | |
| missing | 2 (1.8%) | 3 (2.0%) | |
| Menopause | 0.028 | ||
| pre-menopausal | 35 (32.1%) | 68 (45.6%) | |
| post-menopausal | 74 (67.9%) | 81 (54.4%) | |
| Age (years) | 0.205 | ||
| < 50 | 39 (35.8%) | 65 (43.6%) | |
| ≥ 50 | 70 (64.2%) | 84 (56.4%) | |
| Chemotherapy | 0.201 | ||
| FEC-DG | 49 (45.0%) | 79 (53.0%) | |
| FEC-D | 60 (55.0%) | 70 (47.0%) | |
pT, pN, Histology, Grading, ER status, PR status tested using valid categories only (without missing information)
FEC-DG = epirubicin-fluorouracil-cyclophosphamide/gemcitabine-docetaxel chemotherapy
FEC-D = epirubicin-fluorouracil-cyclophosphamide docetaxel chemotherapy