Molecular detection of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in circulating tumor cells from pancreatic cancer patients: Potential role in clinical practice

Figure 2 The presence of circulating tumor cells was correlated with a poor patient prognosis. A: Circulating tumor cell (CTC) count by AJCC stage of disease. B: CTC status in the lymph node invasion-negative group and invasion-positive group. C: CTC status in the metastasis-negative group and metastasis-positive group. D: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showing the performance of CTCs in predicting metastatic disease. E: Kaplan-Meier survival curves showing different overall survival in groups of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients with ≥ 6 or < 6 total CTCs. F: Kaplan-Meier survival curves showing different progression-free survival in groups of PDAC patients with ≥ 6 or < 6 total CTCs. G: White blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts in CTC-positive and CTC-negative patients. H: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in CTC-positive and CTC-negative patients. ^aP < 0.05; ^bP < 0.01. CTC: Circulating tumor cells.