TABLE 3.
Relationships between CTC levels and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with PC
| Characteristic | No. of patients | CTC units, median (interquartile range) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||
| Female | 18 | 15.13 (9.83‐16.66) | >.05 |
| Male | 27 | 16.45 (10.73‐22.04) | |
| Age (y) | |||
| ≤60 | 12 | 15.97 (10.17‐22.65) | >.05 |
| >60 | 33 | 15.08 (10.61‐19.13) | |
| Preoperative CA19‐9 level U/mL | |||
| ≤27 | 11 | 16.47 (13.26‐18.75) | >.05 |
| >27 | 34 | 15.05 (10.13‐20.46) | |
| Preoperative bilirubin level μmol/L | |||
| ≤28 | 33 | 14.01 (10.24‐18.91) | >.05 |
| >28 | 12 | 16.55 (7.85‐21.08) | |
| WBC (×109/L) | |||
| ≤6.5 | 33 | 15.53 (11.61‐19.83) | >.05 |
| >6.5 | 12 | 10.61 (9.25‐20.05) | |
| Tumour location | |||
| Head or neck | 24 | 15.44 (11.30‐18.41) | >.05 |
| Body or tail | 21 | 13.26 (10.14‐21.38) | |
| Tumour size (mm) | |||
| ≤40 | 28 | 15.44 (10.78‐20.10) | >.05 |
| >40 | 17 | 12.70 (6.36‐20.19) | |
| Tumour stage | |||
| I | 10 | 15.22 (13.82‐20.53) | >.05 |
| II | 14 | 12.68 (9.21‐18.87) | |
| III | 13 | 16.61 (10.14‐23.76) | |
| IV | 8 | 15.97 (9.35‐19.74) | |
| Tumour differentiation | |||
| Well | 16 | 14.11 (7.00‐18.64) | >.05 |
| Moderate | 4 | 12.59 (6.58‐22.46) | |
| Poor | 25 | 15.35 (10.79‐20.49) | |
| Lymph‐node status | |||
| N0 | 13 | 14.01 (11.00‐17.28) | >.05 |
| N1 + N2 | 10 | 16.55 (6.90‐19.90) | |
| Margins | |||
| R0 | 13 | 14.92 (11.75‐20.01) | >.05 |
| R1 | 10 | 13.13 (9.30‐17.16) | |
| Vascular infiltration | |||
| No | 19 | 14.92 (9.01‐16.76) | >.05 |
| Yes | 26 | 16.54 (11.23‐21.39) | |
| Metastasis | |||
| No | 37 | 15.08 (10.79‐19.82) | >.05 |
| Yes | 8 | 15.97 ( 9.35‐19.74) | |
Abbreviations: CA19‐9, carbohydrate antigen 19‐9; CTC, circulating tumour cell; PC, pancreatic cancer; WBC, white blood cell.