Table 4. Associations between the CTC-WBC cluster count and the PFS of NSCLC patients.
| Variables | n (%) | Univariate analysis | Multivariate analysis | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR (95% CI) | P | HR (95% CI)* | P* | |||
| 0 CTC-WBC cluster | 39 (63.93) | 1 | 1 | |||
| ≤3 CTC-WBC clusters | 13 (21.31) | 1.67 (0.73–3.83) | 0.226 | 2.18 (0.91–5.22) | 0.079 | |
| >3 CTC-WBC clusters | 9 (14.75) | 3.72 (1.44–9.59) | 0.007 | 2.18 (0.83–5.77) | 0.116 | |
*, adjusted for pathologic type, main therapy, and number of CTCs. CTC-WBC cluster, circulating tumor-cell-associated white blood cell cluster; PFS, progression-free survival; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval.