Survivin-positive circulating tumor cells as a marker for metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Figure 6 Total circulating tumor cell count and survivin-positive circulating tumor cell count in the study cohort. A and B: Both the median circulating tumor cell (CTC) count (A) and survivin-positive CTC count (B) in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) patients were significantly higher than those in the HBV/HCV patients and healthy controls; C: The proportion of mesenchymal CTCs (mCTCs) in HCC at the advanced BCLC stage (B-C) was significantly higher than that in HCC at the early stage (0-A); D: ROC curves for survivin-positive CTC count, total CTC count, and mCTC proportion. The rational cut-off for diagnosis was 12 for the CTC count, 4 for the survivin-positive CTC count, and 1.85% for the mCTC proportion. ^aP < 0.05; ^bP < 0.01. CTC: Circulating tumor cell.