Table 1.
Patient and tumor characteristics
| Characteristics | Alive patients after follow-up° No. (%) |
Deceased patients after follow-up° No. (%) |
|---|---|---|
| No. of patients | 160 | 40 |
| Age in years (mean ± SD) | 54.2 ± 9.6 | 53.3 ± 10.1 |
| CTC status | ||
| CTC negative (CTC = 0#) | 80 (50) | 20 (50) |
| CTC positive (CTC ≥ 1#) | 80 (50) | 20 (50) |
| Tumour size | ||
| pT1a-c | 78 (48.7) | 10 (25.0) |
| pT2-4 | 82 (51.3) | 30 (75.0) |
| Lymph node status | ||
| pN0 (node negative) | 54 (33.8) | 8 (20.0) |
| pN1 (1–3 axillary) | 82 (51.2) | 12 (30.0) |
| pN2 (4–9 axillary) | 22(13.7) | 16 (40.0) |
| pN3 (≥ 10 axillary) | 2 (1.3) | 4 (10.0) |
| Grading | ||
| G2 | 88 (55.0) | 10 (25.0) |
| G3 | 72 (45.0) | 30 (75.0) |
| Hormone receptor status | ||
| Negative | 44 (27.5) | 10 (25.0) |
| Positive | 116 (72.5) | 30 (75.0) |
| Her2-neu status | ||
| Negative | 28 (17.5) | 30 (75.0) |
| Positive | 132 (82.5) | 10 (25.0) |
| Menopausal status | ||
| Premenopausal | 69 (43.1) | 14 (35.0) |
| Postmenopausal | 91 (56.9) | 26 (65.0) |
| Primary operation | ||
| Breast conserving | 113 (70.6) | 29 (72.5) |
| Mastectomy | 47 (29.4) | 11 (27.5) |
| Systematic therapy | ||
| Chemotherapy-FEC-D | 76 (47.5) | 21 (52.5) |
| Chemotherapy-FEC-DG | 84 (52.5) | 19 (47.5) |
°Median follow-up was 65 months (range 1–96 months)
*CTC circulating tumour cell, FEC-D fluorouracil-epirubicin-cyclophosphamide (500/100/500 mg/m2, FEC) followed by doxetacel (100 mg/mg2), FEC-DG fluorouracil-epirubicin-cyclophosphamide (500/100/500 mg/m2, FEC) followed by gemcitabine (1.000 mg/m2 d1,8)-doxetaxel (75 mg/m2)
#Per 30 ml of blood