Table 2.
Kyn, Trp and Kyn/Trp ratio according to patient and tumor characteristics
| Comparison group | Kyn (μM/L) | Trp (μM/L) | Kyn/Trp ratio | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median ± SD | P value | Median ± SD | P value | Median ± SD | P value | |
| Healthy vs. cancer | ||||||
| Healthy | 1.951 ± 0.708 | < 0.0001*** | 48.80 ± 14.16 | 0.001** | 0.042 ± 0.019 | 0.026* |
| Cancer | 1.770 ± 0.537 | 44.56 ± 10.83 | 0.038 ± 0.013 | |||
| Age (years) | ||||||
| < 54.5 | 1.738 ± 0.609 | < 0.0001*** | 45.68 ± 11.23 | 0.978 | 0.036 ± 0.015 | < 0.0001*** |
| ≥ 54.5 | 1.980 ± 0.643 | 46.63 ± 13.78 | 0.043 ± 0.016 | |||
| Histology | ||||||
| Ductal | 1.810 ± 0.550 | 0.077 | 44.51 ± 10.65 | 0.051 | 0.038 ± 0.014 | 0.005** |
| Lobular | 1.550 ± 0.451 | 48.60 ± 11.54 | 0.033 ± 0.009 | |||
| Other | 1.543 ± 0.289 | 38.00 ± 10.92 | 0.038 ± 0.008 | |||
| Subtype | ||||||
| Luminal A | 1.770 ± 0.570 | 0.324 | 47.73 ± 12.48 | 0.213 | 0.038 ± 0.014 | 0.100 |
| Luminal B | 1.800 ± 0.458 | 44.57 ± 10.27 | 0.038 ± 0.011 | |||
| HER2-enriched | 1.853 ± 0.881 | 40.42 ± 6.85 | 0.047 ± 0.023 | |||
| TNBC | 1.707 ± 0.442 | 44.13 ± 9.90 | 0.038 ± 0.012 | |||
| Estrogen receptor expression | ||||||
| ER-positive | 1.800 ± 0.510 | 0.897 | 45.47 ± 11.26 | 0.016* | 0.0377 ± 0.012 | 0.040* |
| ER-negative | 1.757 ± 0.606 | 42.00 ± 8.88 | 0.042 ± 0.016 | |||
| Progesterone receptor expression | ||||||
| PgR-positive | 1.775 ± 0.480 | 0.890 | 44.93 ± 11.64 | 0.041* | 0.038 ± 0.012 | 0.048* |
| PgR-negative | 1.760 ± 0.633 | 43.73 ± 8.59 | 0.041 ± 0.016 | |||
| HER2 amplification | ||||||
| HER2-positive | 1.797 ± 0.643 | 0.364 | 43.66 ± 10.16 | 0.313 | 0.039 ± 0.017 | 0.100 |
| HER2-negative | 1.766 ± 0.489 | 44.93 ± 11.09 | 0.038 ± 0.012 | |||
| Ki67% expression | ||||||
| Ki67 < 20% | 1.757 ± 0.577 | 0.968 | 47.17 ± 1.02 | 0.240 | 0.038 ± 0.014 | 0.328 |
| Ki67 ≥ 20% | 1.800 ± 0.518 | 43.93 ± 10.06 | 0.038 ± 0.013 | |||
| TNM stage | ||||||
| Stage I | 1.652 ± 0.555 | 0.668 | 47.30 ± 12.75 | 0.035* | 0.037 ± 0.011 | 0.143 |
| Stage II | 1.807 ± 0.489 | 45.47 ± 10.18 | 0.038 ± 0.014 | |||
| Stage III | 1.697 ± 0.631 | 40.60 ± 9.90 | 0.042 ± 0.015 | |||
| T stage | ||||||
| T1 | 1.800 ± 0.538 | 0.935 | 48.58 ± 12.36 | 0.024* | 0.037 ± 0.011 | 0.352 |
| T2 | 1.757 ± 0.516 | 44.47 ± 8.28 | 0.038 ± 0.014 | |||
| T3 | 1.677 ± 0.642 | 40.60 ± 12.31 | 0.039 ± 0.016 | |||
| T4 | 1.807 ± 0.550 | 41.23 ± 11.45 | 0.043 ± 0.015 | |||
| N stage | ||||||
| N0 | 1.677 ± 0.515 | 0.736 | 44.67 ± 11.91 | 0.492 | 0.037 ± 0.013 | 0.538 |
| N1 | 1.813 ± 0.503 | 44.90 ± 9.95 | 0.039 ± 0.013 | |||
| N2 | 1.705 ± 0.641 | 44.20 ± 7.63 | 0.044 ± 0.012 | |||
| N3 | 1.651 ± 1.106 | 39.5 ± 8.60 | 0.044 ± 0.022 | |||
| Scarf–Bloom–Richardson grade | ||||||
| G1 | 1.520 ± 0.522 | 0.143 | 40.60 ± 8.33 | 0.843 | 0.034 ± 0.005 | 0.026* |
| G2 | 1.670 ± 0.605 | 44.40 ± 11.61 | 0.036 ± 0.015 | |||
| G3 | 1.840 ± 0.450 | 44.57 ± 10.20 | 0.038 ± 0.011 | |||
| Lymphovascular invasion | ||||||
| Yes | 1.820 ± 0.657 | 0.286 | 45.47 ± 8.73 | 0.694 | 0.039 ± 0.014 | 0.272 |
| No | 1.728 ± 0.500 | 44.35 ± 11.33 | 0.038 ± 0.013 | |||
| Pathological complete response to NAC | ||||||
| Yes | 1.813 ± 0.470 | 0.039* | 44.43 ± 11.72 | 0.292 | 0.039 ± 0.012 | 0.367 |
| No | 1.650 ± 0.589 | 42.00 ± 8.90 | 0.038 ± 0.016 | |||
| Relapse | ||||||
| Yes | 1.783 ± 0.627 | 0.772 | 45.02 ± 6.46 | 0.987 | 0.039 ± 0.014 | 0.889 |
| No | 1.771 ± 0.524 | 44.35 ± 11.39 | 0.038 ± 0.014 | |||
The corresponding p values for patients showing or not a pCR and for patients with or without relapse are reported in the table. A significance level of 0.05 is accepted (in italics)
Median value of Kyn, Trp and Kyn/Trp ratio according to patient and tumor characteristics, to response to chemotherapy and relapse. The p value was calculated as the mean of the Mann–Whitney U test for two variables or the Kruskal–Wallis test for three or more variables
Kyn kynurenine, Trp tryptophan, SD standard deviation, TNBC triple-negative breast cancer, ER estrogen receptor, NAC neoadjuvant chemotherapy