Table 2.
Correlations between the clinicopathological data of the BC patients and the expression of a sympathetic innervation marker (TH) and adrenergic receptors (α2a and β2) in bone metastasis biopsies retrieved from BC patients.
| Total | TH+ | α2a+ | β2+ | TH/α2a/β2+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients (n) | 44 | 21 | 18 | 43 | 13 |
| Mean age at diagnosis (min-max) |
52 (28–76) |
52 (28–76) |
51 (32–73) |
51 (28–76) |
51 (32–73) |
| Tumor size (mm) (min-max) |
30 (9–100) |
33 (10–100) |
32 (9–100) |
30 (9–100) |
37 (15–100) |
| Molecular subtype * (%) | |||||
| Luminal A | 32 | 24 | 39 | 33 | 38 |
| Luminal B | 66 | 76 | 56 | 65 | 62 |
| HER2-enriched | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Basal-like/TBNC | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Grade (%) | |||||
| G1 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 0 |
| G2 | 52.3 | 52.4 | 50.0 | 53.5 | 53.8 |
| G3 | 40.9 | 42.8 | 44.4 | 39.5 | 46.2 |
* As determined by the immunohistochemistry analysis. Abbreviations: HER2—human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; TBNC—triple-negative breast cancer; TH—tyrosine hydroxylase.