Table 1. Patient characteristics.
| dose dense AC n (%) | TAC n (%) | Total n (%) | p-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yrs) | 0.667 | |||
| ≤ 29 | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.3) | 3 (0.5) | |
| 30-39 | 23 (7.0) | 25 (7.8) | 48 (7.4) | |
| 40-49 | 115 (35.2) | 123 (38.6) | 238 (36.8) | |
| 50-59 | 125 (38.2) | 115 (36.1) | 240 (37.2) | |
| 60-69 | 62 (19.0) | 53 (16.6) | 115 (17.8) | |
| ≥ 70 | 0 | 2 (0.6) | 2 (0.3) | |
| Menopausal status† | 0.323 | |||
| premenopausal | 168 (51.4) | 175 (54.9) | 343 (53.1) | |
| postmenopausal | 154 (47.1) | 137 (42.9) | 291 (45.0) | |
| missing | 5 (1.5) | 7 (2.2) | 12 (1.9) | |
| Surgery | 0.490 | |||
| breast conserving surgery | 178 (54.4) | 165 (51.7) | 343 (53.1) | |
| mastectomy | 148 (45.3) | 153 (48.0) | 301 (46.6) | |
| missing | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.3) | |
| Endocrine therapy | 0.934 | |||
| none | 55 (16.8) | 57 (17.9) | 102 (15.8) | |
| tamoxifen | 76 (23.2) | 69 (21.6) | 145 (22.4) | |
| aromatase inhibitor | 26 (8.0) | 28 (8.8) | 54 (8.4) | |
| sequential tamoxifen-aromatase inhibitor | 170 (52.0) | 164 (51.4) | 334 (51.7) | |
| missing | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | |
| T Stage‡ | 0.691 | |||
| T1 | 157 (48.0) | 151 (47.3) | 308 (47.7) | |
| T2 | 152 (46.5) | 148 (46.4) | 300 (46.4) | |
| T3 | 16 (4.9) | 18 (5.6) | 34 (5.3) | |
| T4 | 2 (0.6) | 0 | 2 (0.3) | |
| Tx | 0 | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | |
| missing | 0 | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | |
| N Stage‡ | 0.918 | |||
| N0 | 61 (18.7) | 61 (19.1) | 122 (18.9) | |
| N1 | 207 (63.3) | 195 (61.1) | 402 (62.2) | |
| N2 | 44 (13.5) | 44 (13.8) | 88 (13.6) | |
| N3 | 15 (4.6) | 18 (5.6) | 33 (5.1) | |
| missing | 0 | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | |
| Histology | 0.310 | |||
| ductal | 269 (82.3) | 254 (79.6) | 523 (81.0) | |
| lobular | 46 (14.1) | 45 (14.1) | 91 (14.1) | |
| other | 12 (3.7) | 20 (6.3) | 32 (5.0) | |
| Grade§ | 0.480 | |||
| good | 32 (9.8) | 40 (12.5) | 72 (11.1) | |
| intermediate | 155 (47.4) | 141 (44.2) | 296 (45.8) | |
| poor | 140 (42.8) | 138 (43.3) | 278 (43.0) | |
| Subtype¶ | 0.666 | |||
| ER and/or PR positive, HER2 negative | 267 (81.6) | 258 (80.9) | 525 (81.3) | |
| HER2 positive | 12 (3.7) | 11 (3.4) | 23 (3.5) | |
| Triple negative | 48 (14.7) | 50 (15.7) | 98 (15.2) |
A = doxorubicin; C = cyclophosphamide; T=docetaxel § Subtypes were defined as 1. estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR) positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative; 2. HER2 positive, regardless of ER or PR status; 3. Triple (ER, PR, HER2) negative; * Pearson Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test (2-sided), missing values excluded; † Menopausal status was based on patients’ history; ‡ According to AJCC staging 6th edition ¶ Grading according to the modified Bloom-Richardson grading system33.