However, when defining cells as EpCAM+ and CK+, our data showed similar or slightly higher detection rates compared to data reported by other authors who detected CTCs in comparable cohorts of patients (56% in metastastic breast cancer [34], 64.7% in NSCLC [35], 38% in ovarian cancer and 31% in gastric cancer [36]). The gene discussed is EPCAM; the disease is breast cancer.