title: Progesterone receptor status and Ki-67 index may predict early relapse in luminal B/HER2 negative breast cancer patients: a retrospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Few studies has documented early relapse in luminal B/HER2-negative breast cancer. We examined prognostic factors for early relapse among these patients to improve treatment decision-making.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total 398 patients with luminal B/HER2-negative breast cancer were included. Kaplan-Meier curves were applied to estimate disease-free survival and Cox regression to identify prognostic factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Progesterone receptor (PR) negative expression was associated with higher tumor grade (p<.001) and higher Ki-67 index (p = .010). PR-negative patients received more chemotherapy than the PR-positive group (p = .009). After a median follow-up of 28 months, 17 patients (4.3%) had early relapses and 8 patients (2.0%) died of breast cancer. The 2-year disease-free survival was 97.7% in the PR-positive and 90.4% in the PR-negative groups (Log-rank p = .002). Also, patients with a high Ki-67 index (defined as >30%) had a reduced disease-free survival (DFS) when compared with low Ki-67 index group (≤30%) (98.0% vs 92.4%, respectively, Log-rank p = .013). In multivariate analysis, PR negativity was significantly associated with a reduced DFS (HR = 3.91, 95% CI 1.29-11.88, p = .016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, PR negativity was a prognostic factor for early relapse in luminal B/HER2-negative breast cancer, while a high Ki-67 index suggested a higher risk of early relapse.
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jiayi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xiaosong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Ou
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xiaochun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jianrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yafen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Kunwei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human