Table 1.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria of the present study

Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
• Written informed consent	• Declined to participate
• Female patients with unilateral, stage I-III breast cancer who had undergone standard surgical treatment and confirmed histologically	• Receipt of neoadjuvant radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or hormonal therapy for breast cancer
• Available primary tumor samples; Adjacent normal breast tissues selected from an area more than 5 cm from the edge of the tumor	• Patients had distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis
• Complete clinicopathological and follow-up information	• Other concurrent malignant diseases or previous diagnosis of carcinoma
	• Severe cardiac or cardiovascular disease
	• Severe cerebrovascular disease
	• Severe renal failure
	• Severe respiratory insufficiency
	• Prior organ transplantation
	• Pregnancy or lactation