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. 2015 Apr 29;5(4):e007702. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-007702

Table 2.

Study cohort of patients with BC with BM (N=2427) by length of BM-free interval

Length of BM-free interval
0 to <1year
N=918
N (%)
1 to <3 years
N=686
N (%)
3 to <5 years
N=462
N (%)
≥5 years
N=361
N (%)
Overall
N=2427
N (%)
Age at BC diagnosis (years)
 25–49 146 (16%) 158 (23%) 126 (27%) 102 (28%) 532 (22%)
 50–59 209 (23%) 187 (27%) 111 (24%) 110 (30%) 617 (25%)
 60–69 277 (30%) 197 (29%) 145 (31%) 79 (22%) 698 (29%)
 ≥70 286 (31%) 144 (21%) 80 (17%) 70 (19%) 580 (24%)
Time period of BC diagnosis
 1997–2001 214 (23%) 215 (31%) 198 (43%) 247 (68%) 874 (36%)
 2002–2006 377 (41%) 311 (45%) 209 (45%) 114 (32%) 1011 (42%)
 2007–2011 327 (36%) 160 (23%) 55 (12%) 0 (0%) 542 (22%)
Stage of disease at BC diagnosis
 Localised 79 (9%) 131 (19%) 108 (23%) 102 (28%) 420 (17%)
 Regional 264 (29%) 426 (62%) 281 (61%) 233 (65%) 1204 (50%)
 Metastatic 491 (53%) 71 (10%) 38 (8%) 6 (2%) 606 (25%)
 Unknown 84 (9%) 58 (8%) 35 (8%) 20 (6%) 197 (8%)
Hormone receptor and HER2 status
 ER-positive 714 (78%) 474 (69%) 367 (79%) 304 (84%) 1859 (77%)
 ER-negative 188 (20%) 199 (29%) 89 (19%) 51 (14%) 527 (22%)
 Unknown 16 (2%) 13 (2%) 6 (1%) 6 (2%) 41 (2%)
 ER/PR-positive and HER2-negative 233 (25%) 135 (20%) 84 (18%) 39 (11%) 491 (20%)
 HER2-positive (any ER/PR status) 156 (17%) 131 (19%) 72 (16%) 34 (9%) 393 (16%)
 ER/PR-negative and HER2-negative 90 (10%) 91 (13%) 41 (9%) 16 (4%) 238 (10%)
 Unknown 439 (48%) 329 (48%) 265 (57%) 272 (75%) 1305 (54%)
Charlson Comorbidity Index score
 0 717 (78%) 521 (76%) 341 (74%) 283 (78%) 1862 (77%)
 1–2 173 (19%) 141 (21%) 104 (23%) 67 (19%) 485 (20%)
 >2 28 (3%) 24 (4%) 17 (4%) 11 (3%) 80 (3%)
Median age (range) at BM diagnosis 64 years (28–95) 62 years (28–91) 63 years (29–97) 65 years (36–92) 63 years (28–97)
Other metastases recorded at or before BM diagnosis 437 (48%) 352 (51%) 283 (61%) 220 (61%) 1292 (53%)
Skeletal-related events at BM diagnosis*
 Radiation to bone 159 (17%) 140 (20%) 112 (24%) 73 (20%) 484 (20%)
 Pathological fracture 10 (1%) 26 (4%) 14 (3%) 17 (5%) 67 (3%)
 Spinal cord compression 13 (1%) 19 (3%) 18 (4%) 13 (4%) 63 (3%)
 Surgery to bone 18 (2%) 24 (4%) 11 (2%) 10 (3%) 63 (3%)

*Categories not mutually exclusive.

BC, breast cancer; BM, bone metastasis; ER, estrogen receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; PR, progesterone receptor.