Table 1.
Clinicopathological characteristics of primary breast cancer.
| Characteristicsa | Study groups | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE-CT (n = 144) | FDG-PET/CT (n = 83) | Combined (n = 73) | p-value | |
| Primary tumour size (mm) | 20 (3–70) | 24 (1–80) | 20 (9–60) | 0.69 |
| Bilateral cancer | 12 (8.3) | 9 (10.8) | 6 (8.2) | 0.81 |
| Histopathology | 0.13 | |||
| Ductal | 111 (77.1) | 57 (68.7) | 50 (68.5) | |
| Lobular | 19 (13.2) | 15 (18.1) | 7 (9.6) | |
| Adenocarcinoma | 6 (4.2) | 2 (2.4) | 6 (8.2) | |
| Unknown | 8 (5.6) | 9 (10.8)b | 10 (13.7) | |
| Surgery of primary tumour | 0.13 | |||
| No surgery | 27 (18.8) | 13 (15.7) | 15 (20.6) | |
| Lumpectomy | 50 (34.7) | 22 (26.5) | 31 (42.5) | |
| Mastectomy | 66 (45.8) | 46 (55.4) | 25 (34.3) | |
| Unknown | 1 (0.7) | 2 (2.4) | 2 (2.7) | |
| Oestrogen receptor status | 0.02 | |||
| Positive | 122 (84.7) | 59 (71.1) | 51 (69.9) | |
| Negative | 16 (11.1) | 12 (14.4) | 11 (15.1) | |
| Unknown | 6 (4.1) | 12 (14.4) | 11 (15.1) | |
| Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 status | 0.10 | |||
| Positive | 17 (11.8) | 7 (8.4) | 12 (16.4) | |
| Negative | 87 (60.4) | 55 (66.3) | 33 (45.2) | |
| Unknown | 40 (27.8) | 21 (25.3) | 28 (38.4) | |
| Tumour grade | 0.16 | |||
| Grade 1 | 20 (13.9) | 15 (18.1) | 9 (12.3) | |
| Grade 2 | 63 (43.8) | 24 (28.9) | 23 (31.5) | |
| Grade 3 | 30 (20.8) | 24 (28.9) | 16 (21.9) | |
| Unknown | 31 (21.5) | 20 (24.1) | 25 (34.3) | |
| Ki-67 proliferation (%) | 30 (1–100) | 40 (1–95) | 30 (5–90) | 0.54 |
| Lymph node involvement | 0.16 | |||
| None | 30 (20.8) | 23 (27.7) | 18 (24.7) | |
| Single cell / Micro-metastasis | 8 (5.6) | 5 (6.0) | 3 (4.1) | |
| Macro-metastasis | 75 (52.1) | 31 (37.4) | 26 (35.6) | |
| Unknown | 31 (21.5) | 24 (28.9) | 26 (35.6) | |
| Treatment protocol | 0.17 | |||
| Neo-adjuvant treatment | 21 (14.6) | 8 (9.6) | 11 (15.1) | |
| Adjuvant treatmentc | 104 (72.2) | 51 (61.5) | 46 (63.0) | |
| Both of the above | 8 (5.6) | 12 (14.5) | 5 (6.9) | |
| None of protocols | 8 (5.6) | 9 (10.8) | 7 (9.6) | |
| Unknown | 3 (2.1) | 3 (3.6) | 4 (5.5) | |
| Radiotherapy protocol | 0.62 | |||
| None | 66 (45.8) | 40 (48.2) | 34 (46.6) | |
| Breast only | 23 (16.0) | 8 (9.6) | 13 (17.8) | |
| Breast + axilla | 55 (38.2) | 35 (42.2) | 26 (35.6) | |
CE-CT contrast-enhanced computed tomography, FDG-PET/CT Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with integrated computed tomography.
aData shown as median (interquartile range) and frequency (%).
bThe histopathology of one patient in FDG-PET/CT group was granular cell tumour.
cAdjuvant treatment included both endocrine and chemotherapy.
Statistically significant p < 0.05 values are in bold.