Table I.
Patient characteristics and correlation with CTCs/CTM.
| P-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | No. of patients with lung cancer (n=32) | CTC-peri | CTCs-PV | CTMs-PV |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 19 (59%) | 0.668 | 0.050 | 0.440 |
| Female | 13 (41%) | |||
| Age (range) | 32-78 (years) | 0.219 | 0.664 | 0.829 |
| Histological type | ||||
| Adenocarcinoma | 16 (50%) | 0.442 | 0.734 | 0.811 |
| Non adenocarcinoma | 16 (50%) | |||
| Tumor site | ||||
| Central | 8 (25%) | 0.764 | 0.281 | 0.789 |
| Peripheral | 24 (75%) | |||
| Visceral pleural involvement | ||||
| Yes | 6 (19%) | 0.182 | 0.176 | 0.331 |
| No | 26 (81%) | |||
| Vessel invasion | ||||
| Yes | 6 (19%) | 0.182 | 0.059 | 0.232 |
| No | 26 (81%) | |||
| Tumor size range (cm) | 1.5–9.0 | 0.016 | 0.012 | 0.028 |
| Lymph node metastasis | ||||
| Yes | 13 (41%) | 0.143 | 0.038 | 1.000 |
| No | 19 (59%) | |||
| Pathological TNM staging | ||||
| I | 13 (41%) | 0.149 | 0.048 | 0.641 |
| II | 12 (37%) | |||
| III | 7 (22%) | |||
| CT-guided needle biopsya | ||||
| Yes | 8 (33%) | 0.259 | 0.646 | 0.139 |
| No | 16 (67%) | |||
| SUVb range | 2.6–20.5 | 0.691 | 0.863 | 0.537 |
a
Upon excluding 8 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 8 of the remaining 24 cases underwent CT-guided needle biopsy prior to surgery.
b
Positron emission tomography-CT was performed on 12 patients for preoperative diagnosis and staging. TNM, pathological tumor-node-metastasis; CT, computed tomography; SUV, standard uptake value; CTC, circulating tumor cell; CTM, circulating tumor microemboli; PV, pulmonary vein; peri, peripheral blood.