Fig. 3

Excellent response rate according to tumor burden 9–12 months after initial therapy (a) and at last follow-up visit (b) in patients with persistent disease. There is a significant trend for a decrease in excellent response rate from the very small-, small- to the large-volume PD groups at 9–12 months after initial therapy (71, 20 and 7%, respectively; p = 0.01) and at last follow-up visit (75, 28 and 16%, respectively; p = 0.04).