Table 1. Patients and tumor characteristics.
| Variables | n | % |
|---|---|---|
| Age | ||
| ≤ 40 years | 72 | 17.0 |
| > 40 years | 351 | 83.0 |
| Menopausal Status | ||
| pre-menopausal | 246 | 58.2 |
| post-menopausal | 177 | 41.8 |
| Initial Tumor Size | ||
| ≤ 2 cm | 6 | 1.4 |
| > 2 and ≤ 5 cm | 114 | 27.0 |
| > 5 cm | 198 | 46.8 |
| unknown | 105 | 24.8 |
| Initial Tumor Stage | ||
| T1 | 4 | 0.9 |
| T2 | 134 | 31.7 |
| T3 | 212 | 50.1 |
| T4 | 73 | 17.2 |
| Initial Node Status | ||
| negative | 107 | 25.3 |
| positive | 316 | 74.7 |
| Histologic Type | ||
| ductal | 386 | 91.3 |
| lobular | 8 | 1.9 |
| other | 29 | 6.9 |
| Initial HR Status | ||
| negative | 166 | 39.2 |
| positive | 257 | 60.8 |
| Initial HER2 Status | ||
| negative | 341 | 80.6 |
| positive | 82 | 19.4 |
| Pre-NCT Tumor Phenotype | ||
| HR (+)/HER2 (−) | 213 | 50.3 |
| HR (+)/HER2 (+) | 44 | 10.4 |
| HR (−)/HER2 (+) | 38 | 9.0 |
| HR (−)/HER2 (−) | 128 | 30.3 |
| NCT Regimen | ||
| PC | 105 | 24.8 |
| CEF | 119 | 28.1 |
| NE | 169 | 39.9 |
| TE | 26 | 6.1 |
| others | 4 | 1.0 |
| NCT Cycles | ||
| 1–2 | 106 | 25.1 |
| 3–4 | 272 | 64.3 |
| 5–6 | 45 | 10.6 |
| Response to NCT | ||
| PR | 229 | 54.1 |
| SD/PD | 194 | 45.9 |
| Tumor Size at Surgery | ||
| ≤ 2 cm | 152 | 35.9 |
| > 2 and ≤ 5 cm | 206 | 48.7 |
| > 5 cm | 65 | 15.4 |
| Number of Positive Nodes at Surgery | ||
| 0 | 76 | 18.0 |
| 1–3 | 127 | 30.0 |
| ≥ 4 | 220 | 52.0 |
| Vascular Invasion | ||
| negative | 230 | 54.4 |
| positive | 88 | 20.8 |
| unknown | 105 | 24.8 |
| Histologic Grade | ||
| 1 | 3 | 0.7 |
| 2 | 159 | 37.6 |
| 3 | 42 | 10.0 |
| unknown | 219 | 51.8 |
| Ki67 at Surgery | ||
| high (≥ 15%) | 146 | 34.5 |
| low (< 15%) | 277 | 65.5 |
| HR Status at Surgery | ||
| negative | 198 | 46.8 |
| positive | 225 | 53.2 |
| HER2 Status at Surgery | ||
| negative | 355 | 83.9 |
| positive | 68 | 16.1 |
| Adjuvant Chemotherapy | ||
| Yes | 377 | 89.1 |
| No | 46 | 10.9 |
| Adjuvant Hormone Therapy | ||
| Yes | 230 | 54.4 |
| No | 193 | 45.6 |
| Adjuvant Radiotherapy | ||
| Yes | 281 | 66.4 |
| No | 142 | 33.6 |
| HR Conversion | ||
| (−) to (−) | 143 | 33.8 |
| (+) to (+) | 202 | 47.8 |
| (+) to (−) | 55 | 13.0 |
| (−) to (+) | 23 | 5.4 |
| HER2 Conversion | ||
| (−) to (−) | 328 | 77.5 |
| (+) to (+) | 55 | 13.0 |
| (+) to (−) | 27 | 6.4 |
| (−) to (+) | 13 | 3.1 |
| Tumor Phenotype Conversion | ||
| concordant nTN | 213 | 50.3 |
| concordant TN | 110 | 26.0 |
| discordant nTN | 46 | 10.9 |
| discordant TN | 54 | 12.8 |
CEF: Cyclophosphamide + Epirubicin + 5-fluorouracil; HER2: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR: hormone receptor; NCT: neoadjuvant chemotherapy; NE: Navelbine + Epirubicin; nTN: non-triple-negative; PC: Paclitaxel + Cyclophosphamide; PR: partial response; SD/PD: stable disease or progression of disease; TE: Docetaxel + Epirubicin; TN: triple-negative.