Fig. 4

CTC number change and prognosis. a Kaplan-Meier analysis for time to recurrence in patients with HCC who were MVI-positive and MVI-negative. b The dynamic change of three groups (no recurrence [n = 60], non-early recurrence [n = 35] and early recurrence [n = 42]) with regard to CTC number at all time points. c The CTC number change in the three groups before, during and 1 week after surgery (** = P < 0.05). d Kaplan-Meier analysis for time to recurrence in patients with HCC with mean CTC ≥ 5 and CTC < 5