Fig. 7

Clinical relevance of CTHRC1 expression in NSCLC patients. a, b Circulating tumour cells (CTC) were detected using the NanoVelcro system. The CTHRC1 concentration positively correlated with the number of CTCs. c, d The cut-off value for CTHRC1 had optimal sensitivity and specificity for metastasis, with an area under the curve of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.941–1.000; p < 0.001), and optimal sensitivity and specificity for recurrence, with an area under the curve of 0.691 (95% CI: 0.604–0.788; p < 0.001). e IHC data indicating the post-surgery survival rate was significantly lower in the group of CTHRC1-high patients. f, g CTHRC1-low patients had much higher post-surgery survival rates, at both the early and late stages. h Summary of overall survival with high or low CTHRC1 expression. i Compared to low CTHRC1, MMP7 and MMP9 expression, the combined high expression of CTHRC1, MMP7 and MMP9 was associated with a significantly lower post-surgery survival rate. j Summary of overall survival with high or low combinatorial CTHRC1, MMP7 and MMP9 expression