Proportion of isolated tumour cells and/or micrometastases and macrometastases to the total number of metastases detected by each protocol stratified by levels
| Protocol | Levels | Metastases detected | ITC | Micrometastases | ITC or micrometastases | Macrometastases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Metastasis first seen at the 6th level. | ||||||
| ITC, isolated tumour cells. | ||||||
| A | 1–5 | 62 | 3 (5%) | 4 (6%) | 7 (11%) | 55 (89%) |
| 6–10 | 4 | 2 (50%) | 2 (50%) | 4 (100%) | 0 | |
| 11–15 | 2 | 1 (50%) | 1 (50%) | 2 (100%) | 0 | |
| 16–20 | 4 | 2 (50%) | 2 (50%) | 4 (100%) | 0 | |
| >20 | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 | 1 (50%) | 1 (50%) | |
| B | 1 | 29 | 1 (3%) | 4 (14%) | 5 (17%) | 24 (83%) |
| 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 (25%) | 1 (25%) | 3 (75%) | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 (33%) | 1 (33%) | 2 (67%) | |
| 4 | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 | 1 (50%) | 1 (50%) | |
| 5 | 3 | 1 (33%) | 1 (33%) | 2 (67%) | 1 (33%) | |
| >5 | 6 | 2 (33%) | 3 (50%) | 5 (83%) | 1 (17%)* | |