Table 2.
Clinicopathological characteristics of metastatic diseasea.
| Characteristics | Study groups | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE-CT (n = 144) | FDG-PET/CT (n = 83) | Combined (n = 73) | p-value | |
| Year of diagnosis | 2013 (2007–2017) | 2015 (2009–2018) | 2013 (2004–2017) | <0.001 |
| Age at diagnosis (years) | 66.1 (28.4–84.5) | 64.7 (28.2–86.7) | 60.4 (31.0–95.3) | 0.003 |
| Performance status | 0.08 | |||
| 0 | 71 (49.3) | 40 (48.2) | 35 (48.0) | |
| 1 | 40 (28.8) | 26 (31.3) | 18 (24.7) | |
| 2 | 11 (7.6) | 6 (7.2) | 1 (1.37) | |
| ≥3 | 5 (3.5) | 3 (3.6) | 0 (0) | |
| Unknown | 17 (11.8) | 8 (9.6) | 19 (26.0) | |
| Time until relapseb (months) | 69.8 (0–271.4) | 59.3 (0–313.2) | 78 (0–364.0) | 0.94 |
| De novo metastatic cancer | 31 (21.5) | 17 (20.5) | 20 (27.4) | 0.56 |
| Histopathology | 0.69 | |||
| Ductal | 36 (25.0) | 14 (16.9) | 14 (19.2) | |
| Lobular | 16 (11.1) | 9 (10.8) | 5 (6.9) | |
| Adenocarcinoma | 58 (40.3) | 36 (43.4) | 35 (48.0) | |
| Unknown | 34 (23.6) | 24 (28.9) | 19 (26.0) | |
| Oestrogen receptor status | 0.24 | |||
| Positive | 118 (81.9) | 69 (83.1) | 55 (75.3) | |
| Negative | 17 (11.8) | 13 (15.7) | 14 (19.2) | |
| Unknown | 9 (6.6) | 1 (1.2) | 4 (5.5) | |
| Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 status | 0.02 | |||
| Positive | 13 (9.0) | 8 (9.6) | 18 (24.7) | |
| Negative | 103 (71.5) | 64 (77.1) | 44 (60.3) | |
| Unknown | 28 (19.4) | 11 (13.3) | 11 (15.1) | |
| Ki-67 proliferation (%) | 32.5 (1–95) | 30 (5–95) | 40 (5–80) | 0.83 |
| Origin of biopsy | 0.03 | |||
| Bone | 41 (28.5) | 24 (28.9) | 19 (26.0) | |
| Liver | 27 (18.8) | 4 (4.8) | 7 (9.6) | |
| Lung | 16 (11.1)c | 13 (15.7) | 9 (12.3) | |
| Pleural fluid | 7 (4.9) | 13 (15.7) | 4 (5.5) | |
| Lymph nodes | 18 (12.5) | 12 (14.5) | 13 (17.8) | |
| Breast | 21 (14.6) | 11 (13.3) | 11 (15.1) | |
| Skin | 8 (5.6) | 3 (3.6) | 5 (6.9) | |
| Others | 6 (4.2) | 3 (3.6) | 5 (6.9) | |
| Triple negatived | 12 (8.3) | 8 (9.6) | 5 (6.9) | 0.78 |
| Detected metastatic lesions at baseline scan | ||||
| Oligometastatic cancere | 18 (12.5) | 8 (9.6) | 15 (20.6) | 0.14 |
| Bone | 95 (66.0) | 59 (71.1) | 45 (61.6) | 0.47 |
| Liver | 56 (38.9) | 16 (19.3) | 18 (24.7) | 0.005 |
| Lung / pleural effusion | 53 (36.8) | 37 (44.6) | 21 (28.8) | 0.12 |
| Lymph nodes (locoregional/distant) | 80 (55.6) | 60 (72.3) | 48 (65.8) | 0.04 |
| Breast / local recurrence | 31 (21.5) | 17 (20.5) | 14 (19.2) | 0.95 |
| Soft tissue | 9 (6.3) | 8 (9.6) | 3 (4.1) | 0.39 |
| Bone-only metastasis | 19 (13.2) | 7 (8.4) | 11 (15.1) | 0.41 |
| Bone and/or soft tissue dominant | 31 (21.5) | 15 (18.1) | 20 (27.4) | 0.38 |
| Organ-specific metastasis (according to baseline scan) | ||||
| Single organ metastasis | 42 (29.2) | 13 (15.7) | 22 (30.1) | 0.06 |
| Two–four organs metastases | 101 (70.1) | 68 (81.9) | 49 (67.1) | |
| Five-organs metastases | 1 (0.7) | 2 (2.4) | 2 (2.7) | |
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 (%).
bTime until relapse for patients with primary disseminated disease was considered zero.
cOne patient was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and primary lung cancer at the same time.
dNegative for excess HER2 protein, oestrogen and progesterone receptors.
eOligometastatic cancer refers to patients with fewer than five metastatic lesions in a single organ.
Statistically significant p < 0.05 values are in bold.