Table 1.
Clinicopathological Characteristics of the Patients and Detection of CTCs
| Parameter | Number of CTCs | Number of Cases | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 0.170 | ||
| ≤60 | 16.3±15.1 | 28 | |
| >60 | 24.4±18.8 | 46 | |
| Gender | 0.646 | ||
| Male | 22.0±18.7 | 48 | |
| Female | 20.3±16.6 | 26 | |
| Location | 0.309 | ||
| Rectum | 23.5±19.8 | 38 | |
| Left Hemicolon | 17.1±17.0 | 19 | |
| Right Hemicolon | 20.5±13.5 | 16 | |
| Size of the tumor | 0.362 | ||
| ≤5 cm | 19.6±16.4 | 53 | |
| >5 cm | 25.8±20.8 | 21 | |
| CEA# | 0.014* | ||
| ≤5 ng/mL | 17.5±15.1 | 49 | |
| >5 ng/mL | 30.9±20.8 | 18 | |
| CA199# | 0.538 | ||
| ≤37 U/mL | 21.3±18.4 | 58 | |
| >37 U/mL | 21.6±14.7 | 9 | |
| T stage | 0.213 | ||
| T1 | 9.3±6.6 | 9 | |
| T2 | 15.0±6.4 | 12 | |
| T3 | 21.1±17.6 | 32 | |
| T4 | 29.2±21.6 | 21 | |
| N stage | 0.334 | ||
| N0 | 19.4±17.8 | 42 | |
| N1/N2 | 24.0±17.9 | 32 | |
| TNM stage | 0.605 | ||
| I | 12.8±7.4 | 17 | |
| II | 24.1±21.3 | 24 | |
| III | 24.2±18.6 | 28 | |
| IV | 19.3±11.9 | 5 | |
| Differentiation | 0.909 | ||
| Poor | 22.0±20.4 | 13 | |
| Moderate and well differentiated | 21.2±17.5 | 61 | |
| Vascular invasion | 22.6±19.1 | – | 0.675 |
| Lymphatic invasion | 25.6±22.8 | – | 0.217 |
| Nerve invasion | 20.7±18.0 | – | 0.646 |
Notes: *p<0.05, #lack of data.
Abbreviations: CTCs, circulating tumor cells; CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen; CA199, carbohydrate antigen 199; TNM, Tumor-Node-Metastasis.