Table I.
Characteristics of patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer.
| Variable | All patients (n=171) | cCR (n=32) | non-cCR (n=139) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Follow-up period (months) | 0.135 | |||
| Median | 44 | 60 | 47 | |
| Range | 0–271 | 1–247 | 0–271 | |
| Age at primary breast cancer (y.o.) | 0.142 | |||
| Median | 55 | 52 | 55 | |
| Range | 29–89 | 32–75 | 29–89 | |
| Age at metastatic breast cancer (y.o.) | 0.232 | |||
| Median | 59 | 57 | 59 | |
| Range | 31–92 | 32–81 | 31–92 | |
| Disease stage at primary diagnosis, no. (%) | 0.003 | |||
| Stage 0 | 4 (2.3) | 2 (6.3) | 2 (1.4) | |
| Stage I | 24 (14.0) | 11 (34.3) | 13 (9.4) | |
| Stage II | 42 (24.6) | 5 (15.6) | 37 (26.6) | |
| Stage III | 46 (27.0) | 8 (25.0) | 38 (27.3) | |
| Stage IV | 38 (22.2) | 4 (12.5) | 34 (24.5) | |
| Unknown | 17 (9.9) | 2 (6.3) | 15 (10.8) | |
| Histology, no. (%) | 0.619 | |||
| Invasive ductal | 148 (86.4) | 30 (93.8) | 118 (84.9) | |
| Invasive lobular | 7 (4.1) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (5.0) | |
| Mixed | 3 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (2.2) | |
| Sarcoma | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.7) | |
| Other | 9 (5.3) | 2 (6.2) | 7 (5.0) | |
| Unknown | 3 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (2.2) | |
| Receptor status, no. (%) | 0.358 | |||
| ER+/HER2- | 93 (54.4) | 19 (59.4) | 74 (53.2) | |
| ER+/HER2+ | 23 (13.5) | 4 (12.5) | 19 (13.7) | |
| ER-/HER2+ | 20 (11.7) | 6 (18.8) | 14 (10.1) | |
| ER-/HER2- | 28 (16.4) | 2 (6.3) | 26 (18.7) | |
| Unknown | 7 (4.0) | 1 (3.0) | 6 (4.3) | |
| Ki-67 labeling index | 0.885 | |||
| Median, SD | 20.3±19.6 | 20.5±23.7 | 20.9±18.6 | |
| Range | 1.5–90 | 1.5–90 | 2–80 | |
| Site No. of metastasis/recurrence | <0.001 | |||
| 1 | 52 (30.4) | 25 (78.1) | 27 (19.4) | |
| 2 | 48 (28.1) | 6 (18.8) | 42 (30.2) | |
| ≥3 | 71 (41.5) | 1 (3.1) | 70 (50.4) | |
| No. of visceral metastasis PgR status | <0.001 | |||
| 0 | 51 (29.8) | 25 (78.1) | 26 (18.7) | |
| 1 | 76 (44.5) | 6 (18.8) | 70 (50.4) | |
| 2 | 40 (23.4) | 1 (3.1) | 39 (28.1) | |
| 3 | 4 (2.3) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (2.8) | |
| NLR at diagnosis of metastasis/recurrence | <0.001 | |||
| Median, SD | 2.44±1.97 | 1.46±0.35 | 2.66±2.16 | |
| Range | 0.83–17.50 | 0.93–2.77 | 0.83–17.50 |
Bold type indicates a statistically significant difference (P<0.005). cCR, clinical complete response; ER, estrogen receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; NLR, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio.