Table 1. Patient and tumour characteristics at baseline.
| Characteristics n (%) | FEC100 (n=241) | Epi-Vnr (n=241) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | |||
| Median (range) | 50 (24–69) | 51 (29–66) | 0.61 |
| <40 | 35 (14.5) | 29 (12.0) | 0.42 |
| ⩾40 | 206 (85.5) | 212 (88.0) | |
| Menopausal status | |||
| Premenopausal | 115 (47.7) | 117 (48.5) | 0.85 |
| Postmenopausal | 126 (52.3) | 124 (51.5) | |
| Surgery | |||
| Tumorectomy | 144 (59.8) | 156 (64.7) | 0.34 |
| Mastectomy | 96 (39.8) | 85 (35.3) | |
| Unknown | 1 (0.4) | 0 | |
| Histology | |||
| Ductal | 189 (78.4) | 199 (82.6) | 0.08 |
| Lobular | 32 (13.3) | 17 (7.1) | |
| Other | 13 (5.4) | 12 (5.0) | |
| Unknown | 7 (2.9) | 13 (5.4) | |
| SBR grade | |||
| 1 | 17 (7.1) | 14 (5.8) | 0.33 |
| 2 | 92 (38.2) | 90 (37.3) | |
| 3 | 117 (48.5) | 111 (46.1) | |
| Unknown/not gradable | 15 (6.2) | 26 (10.8) | |
| Histological tumour size (mm) | |||
| ⩽20 | 83 (34.4) | 93 (38.6) | 0.64 |
| >20 | 132 (54.8) | 123 (51.0) | |
| Unknown | 26 (10.8) | 25 (10.4) | |
| Axillary lymph node involvement | |||
| 1–3 | 56 (23.2) | 63 (26.1) | 0.46 |
| >3 | 185 (76.8) | 178 (73.9) | |
| Hormone-receptor status | |||
| Positive (ER and/or PgR) | 79 (32.8) | 97 (40.2) | 0.15 |
| Negative (ER and PR) | 152 (63.1) | 131 (54.4) | |
| Unknown | 10 (4.1) | 13 (5.4) | |
Epi-Vnr=epirubicin–vinorelbine; ER=estrogen receptors; PgR=progesterone receptors; SBR=Scarff, Bloom and Richardson.