Cancer stem cell markers, chemotherapy response, and survival in triple-negative breast cancer

Table 1 Baseline characteristics stratified by cancer stem cell phenotype, n (%)

Characteristic	CSC-negative (n = 230)	CSC-positive (n = 26)	P value
Age, mean (SD)	46.8 (9.4)	45.3 (10.4)	0.457
Menopausal status			0.116
Pre	117 (50.9)	18 (69.2)
Post	113 (49.1)	8 (30.8)
Tumor grade			0.198
1	33 (14.3)	6 (23.1)
2	67 (29.1)	10 (38.5)
3	130 (56.5)	10 (38.5)
Stage			0.666
I	68 (29.6)	8 (30.8)
II	72 (31.3)	10 (38.5)
III	90 (39.1)	8 (30.8)
Ki-67, mean (SD)	42.7 (13.4)	38.0 (11.7)	0.088
Chemotherapy type			0.708
Neoadjuvant	164 (71.3)	20 (76.9)
Adjuvant	66 (28.7)	6 (23.1)
Surgery			0.847
Mastectomy	141 (61.3)	17 (65.4)
Breast-conserving	89 (38.7)	9 (34.6)
Radiation	189 (82.2)	21 (80.8)	1.000

CSC: Cancer stem cell.

Table 2 Multivariable logistic regression for pathological complete response

Variable	Adjusted OR (95%CI)	P value
CSC positive	0.05 (0.01-0.39)	0.004
Age (per year)	1.00 (0.97-1.03)	0.937
Grade (per level)	1.10 (0.67-1.81)	0.664
Stage II (vs I)	1.48 (0.66-3.29)	0.337
Stage III (vs I)	1.03 (0.49-2.16)	0.944

CSC: Cancer stem cell; OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval.

Table 3 Multivariable Cox model for overall survival

Variable	Adjusted HR (95%CI)	P value
CSC positive	4.35 (2.43-7.79)	< 0.001
Age (per year)	1.00 (0.98-1.03)	0.833
Grade (per level)	0.98 (0.74-1.30)	0.879
Stage II (vs I)	0.83 (0.48-1.42)	0.497
Stage III (vs I)	0.96 (0.58-1.60)	0.887

CSC: Cancer stem cell; HR: Hazard ratio; CI: Confidence interval.

Table 4 Multivariable Cox model for disease-free survival

Variable	Adjusted HR (95%CI)	P value
CSC positive	0.86 (0.43-1.73)	0.675
Age (per year)	1.01 (0.99-1.03)	0.274
Grade (per level)	1.31 (0.98-1.74)	0.068
Stage II (vs I)	0.92 (0.57-1.48)	0.721
Stage III (vs I)	0.80 (0.50-1.30)	0.369

CSC: Cancer stem cell; HR: Hazard ratio; CI: Confidence interval.