Table 1.
Patient and tumor characteristics at diagnosis, according to mammographic density, assessed with Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS).
| BI-RADS a | BI-RADS b | BI-RADS c | BI-RADS d | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 16 | 120 | 140 | 26 | ||
| Age | Median (IQR) | 59 (54–68) | 59 (50–66) | 49 (41–60) | 44 (37–54) | <0.001* |
| BMI | Median (IQR) | 30 (27–35) | 27 (24–30) | 24 (22–27) | 23 (21–26) | <0.001* |
| Menopausal status | Premenopausal | 6 (37.5) | 33 (27.5) | 81 (57.9) | 17 (65.4) | <0.001** |
| Postmenopausal | 10 (62.5) | 87 (72.5) | 59 (42.1) | 9 (34.6) | ||
| Neoadjuvant chemotherapy | FEC/EC + taxane | 15 (93.8) | 98 (81.7) | 110 (78.6) | 20 (76.9) | 0.812** |
| Taxanes | 1 (6.3) | 16 (13.3) | 25 (17.9) | 5 (19.2) | ||
| FEC/EC | 3 (2.5) | 4 (2.9) | 1 (3.8) | |||
| Other | 3 (2.5) | 1 (0.7) | ||||
| Neoadjuvant HER2 therapy | Yes | 4 (25.0) | 44 (36.7) | 38 (27.1) | 9 (34.6) | 0.369** |
| No | 12 (75.0) | 76 (63.3) | 102 (72.9) | 17 (65.4) | ||
| Surgery method | Mastectomy | 12 (75.0) | 92 (76.7) | 115 (82.1) | 24 (92.3) | 0.744** |
| Sector | 4 (25.0) | 25 (20.8) | 22 (15.7) | 2 (7.7) | ||
| Mastectomy + sector | 2 (1.7) | 2 (1.4) | ||||
| Missing | 1 (0.8) | 1 (0.7) | ||||
| pCR (surgical specimen post-NACT) | Yes | 5 (31.3) | 35 (29.2) | 27 (19.3) | 3 (11.5) | 0.104** |
| No | 11 (68.8) | 85 (70.8) | 113 (80.7) | 23 (88.5) | ||
| Core needle biopsy: estrogen receptor status | Positive | 5 (31.3) | 69 (57.5) | 89 (63.6) | 20 (76.9) | 0.018** |
| Negative | 11 (68.8) | 47 (39.2) | 46 (32.9) | 6 (23.1) | ||
| Missing | 4 (3.3) | 5 (3.6) | ||||
| Core needle biopsy: progesterone receptor status | Positive | 4 (25.0) | 44 (36.7) | 77 (55.0) | 15 (57.7) | 0.004** |
| Negative | 12 (75.0) | 72 (60.0) | 58 (41.4) | 11 (42.3) | ||
| Missing | 4 (3.3) | 5 (3.6) | ||||
| Core needle biopsy: HER2 status | Positive | 3 (18.8) | 45 (37.5) | 38 (27.1) | 9 (34.6) | 0.273** |
| Negative | 11 (68.8) | 68 (56.7) | 95 (67.9) | 17 (65.4) | ||
| Missing | 2 (12.5) | 7 (5.8) | 7 (5.0) | |||
| Core needle biopsy: Ki67 | >20% (high) | 12 (75.0) | 89 (74.2) | 89 (63.6) | 15 (57.7) | 0.159** |
| <=20% (low) | 2 (12.5) | 9 (7.5) | 25 (17.9) | 3 (11.5) | ||
| Missing | 2 (12.5) | 22 (18.3) | 26 (18.6) | 8 (30.8) | ||
| Axillary node status (assessed with FNA or SLNB) | N0 | 5 (31.3) | 30 (25.0) | 37 (26.4) | 9 (34.6) | 0.689** |
| N+ | 10 (62.5) | 88 (73.3) | 102 (72.9) | 16 (61.5) | ||
| Missing | 1 (6.3) | 2 (1.7) | 1 (0.7) | 1 (3.8) | ||
| Tumor size at diagnosis (mm) | Median (IQR) | 34 (23–40) | 30 (21–40) | 35 (25–50) | 30 (20–40) | 0.122* |
*Kruskal Wallis tes.t
**Chi-square test.
EC, Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide; FEC, Fluorouracil, Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide; FNA, fine-needle aspiration; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; IQR, interquartile range; mast, mastectomy; mm, millimeter; pCR, complete pathological response; SLNB, sentinel lymph node biopsy.