TABLE 2.
Patient characteristics.
| Characteristic* | Number of patients N = 43 |
| Age (years) | 46 (26, 74) |
| Tumor histology | |
| IDC | 37 (86) |
| ILC | 5 (11.7) |
| Mucinous carcinoma | 1 (2.3) |
| Tumor grade | |
| II | 13 (30.2) |
| III | 30 (69.8) |
| Estrogen receptor status | |
| Negative | 14 (32.6) |
| Positive | 29 (67.4) |
| Progesterone receptor status | |
| Negative | 21 (48.8) |
| Positive | 14 (32.6) |
| HER2 receptor status | |
| Negative | 29 (67.4) |
| Positive | 14 (32.6) |
| MIB-1 expression | |
| Negative (≤10%) | 5 (11.6) |
| Positive (>10%) | 38 (88.4) |
| Molecular subtype | |
| Triple negative | 8 (18.5) |
| HER2 positive | 8 (18.5) |
| HER2 positive Luminal | 6 (14) |
| Luminal B-like | 18 (42) |
| Luminal-A-like | 3 (7) |
| Tumor stage | |
| T1 | 6 (14) |
| T2 | 23 (53.4) |
| T3 | 10 (23.3) |
| T4 | 4 (9.3) |
| Nodal involvement | |
| No | 7 (16.3) |
| Yes | 36 (83.7) |
| Breast cancer stage | |
| II | 29 (67.4) |
| III | 12 (27.9) |
| IV | 2 (4.7) |
| Initial treatment | |
| Neoadjuvant chemotherapy | 34 (79.1) |
| Surgery | 9 (20.9) |
| Presence of ≥1 CTC | |
| Negative | 28 (65.1) |
| Canonical | 1 (2.7) |
| Non-canonical | 14 (32.2) |
| pCR after neoadjuvant chemotherapy | |
| Tumor | 13 (30.2) |
| Lymph nodes | 17 (39.5) |
| Lymph nodes negative before and after | 5 (11.6) |
| neoadjuvant chemotherapy |
*Presented as number (percentage), except for age, which is presented as median (range). N, number of patients; IDC, invasive ductal carcinoma; IDL, invasive lobular carcinoma; CTC, circulating tumor cells; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; pCR, pathological complete response.