Figure 4. Boxplot of the relationship of CTC abundance (per mL blood) with TGF-β RI expression in CTCs. The median number of CTCs was 7 CTCs/mL blood (range, 1.5-23/mL blood) in the presence of TGF-β RI expression (14 cases) and 2.5 CTCs/mL blood (range, 0.4-6.2/mL blood) in its absence (7 cases), but without statistical significance (p=0.09), as determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. Note that in six cases, no CTCs were found in the ISET® spots, hence it was not possible to evaluate TGF-β RI expression. Abbreviations: CTCs, circulating tumor cells; TGF-β RI, transforming growth factor-beta receptor I.
