Table 1.
Clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer patients.
| Characteristics | No eSTCs, % (n) | Yes eSTCs, % (n) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postoperative treatment | Adjuvant chemotherapy: CMF, FAC, CAX | 80 (68) | 82 (41) | NS |
| Antiestrogen therapy with tamoxifen | 20 (17) | 18 (9) | NS | |
| Age | <35 years | 35 (30) | 26 (13) | NS |
| 35–50 years | 22 (19) | 36 (18) | NS | |
| >50 years | 43 (36) | 38 (19) | NS | |
| Menopausal status | Premenopausal | 33 (28) | 36 (18) | NS |
| Postmenopausal | 67 (57) | 64 (32) | NS | |
| Stage | I (T1N0M0) | 28 (24) | 16 (8) | NS |
| IIA (T0−1N1M0, T2N0M0) | 39 (33) | 32 (16) | NS | |
| IIB (T2N1M0, T3N0M0) | 13 (11) | 14 (7) | NS | |
| IIIA (T0−2N2M0, T3N1−2M0) | 14 (12) | 30 (15) | NS | |
| IIIB (T4N0−2M0) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | NS | |
| IIIC (T1−4N3M0) | 5 (4) | 8 (4) | NS | |
| Grade | I | 7 (6) | 10 (5) | NS |
| II | 74 (63) | 80 (40) | NS | |
| III | 19 (16) | 10 (5) | NS | |
| Tumor size | <2 cm | 55 (47) | 30 (15) | 0.007 |
| 2–5 cm | 44 (37) | 62 (31) | 0.049 | |
| >5 cm | 1 (1) | 8 (4) | NS | |
| Molecular subtype | Luminal A | 35 (30) | 44 (22) | NS |
| Luminal B | 35 (30) | 38 (19) | NS | |
| Triple-negative | 20 (17) | 10 (5) | NS | |
| HER2-positive | 10 (8) | 8 (4) | NS | |
| Estrogen receptors | Positive | 75 (64) | 86 (43) | NS |
| Negative | 25 (20) | 14 (7) | NS | |
| Progesterone receptors | Positive | 62 (53) | 64 (32) | NS |
| Negative | 38 (32) | 36 (18) | NS | |
| HER2 | Positive | 20 (17) | 26 (13) | NS |
| Negative | 80 (68) | 74 (37) | NS | |
| Ki-67 | Expression <20% | 36 (31) | 48 (24) | NS |
| Expression > 20% | 64 (54) | 52 (26) | NS | |
CMF, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil; FAC, 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide; CAX, cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, xeloda; NS, not significant.