Correlation between presence of circulating HER2-positive tumor cells and clinicopathologic variables in primary breast cancer patients (n = 35)
| Clinicopathologic variables | Patients with HER2-positive CTCs, n/total (%) | P* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pT stage | ||||
| pT2 | 11/29 (37.9) | 0.006 | ||
| pT3 | 6/6 (100) | |||
| Lymph node status | ||||
| Negative | 10/25 (40) | NS | ||
| Positive | 5/8 (62.5) | |||
| Histologic grading | ||||
| I | 0/4 (0) | 0.033 | ||
| II-III | 17/30 (56.7) | |||
| ER status | ||||
| Positive | 6/18 (33.3) | 0.039 | ||
| Negative | 11/16 (68.7) | |||
| PR status | ||||
| Positive | 8/20 (40) | NS | ||
| Negative | 9/14 (64.3) | |||
| HER2 status | ||||
| Negative | 12/24 (50) | NS | ||
| Positive | 2/3 (66.7) | |||
| EGFR status | ||||
| Negative | 2/3 (14.3) | NS | ||
| Positive | 12/24 (50) | |||
| MIB-1 labeling index | ||||
| 20% | 8/19 (42.1) | NS | ||
| >20% | 8/12 (66.7) | |||
| bcl-2 status | ||||
| Negative | 6/6 (100) | NS | ||
| Positive | 7/13 (53.8) | |||
| p53 mutation | ||||
| No | 10/17 (58.8) | NS | ||
| Yes | 4/7 (71.4) | |||
NOTE: Staining was evaluable for HER2 and EGFR in 27 (77.1%), for Ki-67(MIB-1 labeling index) in 31 (88.6%), for bcl-2 in 25 (71.4%), and for p53 in 24 (68.6%) of 35 patients with primary breast cancer.
Abbreviation: NS, not significant.
↵* χ2 test.