Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| Variable | SLNB(N = 54) | SLNB+ALND (N = 56) | ALND(N = 65) | Test value | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 58.1 (11.8) | 53.75 (9.9) | 56.5 (11.1) | F = 2.19d | 0.124 |
| TNM classificationa | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | χ 2 = 49.24 | <0.001e |
| Stage I | 41 (76) | 8 (14) | 28 (43) | ||
| Stage II A | 12 (22) | 42 (75) | 25 (38) | ||
| Stage II B | 1 (2) | 6 (11) | 12 (19) | ||
| Breast surgery | χ 2 = 15.28 | <0.001 | |||
| BCTb | 37 (69) | 40 (71) | 26 (40) | ||
| Mastectomy | 17 (31) | 16 (29) | 39 (60) | ||
| Complications | χ 2 = 9.07 | 0.011f | |||
| No | 49 (90) | 38 (68) | 47 (72) | ||
| Yes | |||||
| > 4 weeks seroma | 2 (4) | 6 (11) | 10 (16) | ||
| Inflammationc | 3 (6) | 12 (21) | 8 (12) | ||
| Radiotherapy | χ 2 = 10.63 | 0.005g | |||
| No | 17 (31) | 12 (21) | 32 (49) | ||
| Yes | |||||
| Breast | 37 (69) | 39 (70) | 26 (40) | ||
| Breast and axilla | 0 (0) | 5 (9) | 7 (11) | ||
| Systemic therapy | χ 2 = 39.89 | <0.001h | |||
| No | 40 (74) | 8 (14) | 29 (45) | ||
| Yes | |||||
| Chemo + tamoxifen − | 4 (8) | 8 (14) | 13 (20) | ||
| Chemo + tamoxifen + | 5 (9) | 21 (38) | 8 (12) | ||
| Chemo − tamoxifen + | 5 (9) | 19 (34) | 15 (23) | ||
a TNM, tumour node metastasis; b BCT, breast-conserving therapy; c inflammation treated with antibiotics; d one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA); e patients diagnosed with breast cancer stage I versus IIa and IIb; f no complications versus complications; g no radiotherapy versus radiotherapy; h no systemic therapy versus systemic therapy.