Triple negative phenotype and N‐ratio are important for prognosis in patients with stage IIIB non‐inflammatory breast carcinoma

Background and Objectives The aim is to evaluate novel prognostic factors such as triple negative (TN) phenotype and ratio between positive nodes and total dissected lymph nodes (N-ratio) in stage IIIB breast carcinoma patients. Methods In this retrospective study, primary endpoints were local recurrence (LR), distant recurrence (DR), and overall survival (OS). Univariate and multivariate prognostic factor analyses were carried out using Cox and Kaplan–Meier methods in the data of 185 patients. Results The median observation time was 36 (range 16–86) months. Pathological tumor size (continuous [cont.], P = 0.002; Hazard ratio [HR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–1.3) and N-ratio (cont., P < 0.0001; HR, 1.02; CI, 1.01–1.03) were strongly associated with LR. Tumor phenotype (triple vs. non-triple, P = 0.002; HR, 2.6; CI, 1.4–4.7), N-ratio (cont., P = 0.01; HR, 1.02; CI, 1.01–1.03) and pathological tumor size (cont., P = 0.003; HR, 1.2; CI, 1.1–1.3) for DR, and also tumor phenotype (triple vs. non-triple, P < 0.0001; HR, 3.7; CI, 1.8–7.5), N-ratio (cont., P = 0.03; HR, 1.02; CI, 1.01–1.03) and pathological tumor size (cont., P = 0.006; HR, 1.3; CI, 1.2–1.4) for OS were the most important prognostic factors. Conclusions N-Ratio and TN phenotype were the most important prognostic factors for stage IIIB breast carcinoma patients. J. Surg. Oncol. 2009;100:681–687. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.