A Population-Based Analysis of a Risk Stratification System for Predicting Radiotherapy Benefits in Medullary Breast Carcinoma | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A Population-Based Analysis of a Risk Stratification System for Predicting Radiotherapy Benefits in Medullary Breast Carcinoma Jian Zhang, Lizhao Wang, Heyan Chen, Yu Yan, Guanqun Ge, Ke Wang, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6584933/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in European Journal of Medical Research → Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Medullary breast carcinoma (MBC), a rare histological subtype representing 3-5% of breast malignancies, presents unique therapeutic challenges due to its distinct clinicopathological characteristics and uncertain radiotherapy (RT) benefit profile. While current guidelines extrapolate treatment protocols from invasive ductal carcinoma, the prognostic heterogeneity among MBC patients and lack of validated biomarkers necessitate precision stratification tools to optimize RT decision-making. Methods Based on the data of patients from the SEER database between 2010 and 2018, we used univariate and multivariate Cox to develop a prognostic stratification model, and stratified the whole cohort into different risk groups to determine the optimal candidates to benefit from radiotherapy. The accuracy of the nomogram was evaluated by discrimination and calibration evaluation. Results A total of 677 patients were randomly divided into training set (n = 535) and verification set (n = 132) at 8:2. Then we identified five independent prognostic factors for MBC patients. Together, the 3 - and 5-year nomograms were made up of these 5 variables and patients were divided into two prognostic cohorts based on optimal cutoff value. The results showed that radiotherapy improved the prognosis of low-risk MBC patients compared to their non-radiotherapy-receiving counterparts (P = 0.017), while radiotherapy could not beneficial for patients with high-risk cohort (P = 0.47). The prognostic model predicts OS with excellent performance, the 3- and 5-year AUC of the training group were 0.777 and 0.775, the 3- and 5-year AUC of the validation set were 0.747 and 0.712, respectively. And the 3-year and 5-year calibration diagrams showed good consistency between the predicted results and the actual results. Conclusion The current study developed a prognostic stratification nomogram of patients with MBC and found that patients in the low-risk group were more likely to benefit from radiotherapy. medullary carcinoma of the breast radiotherapy overall survival risk stratification nomogram Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Introduction Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women and the leading cause of female mortality [ 1 ]. Currently, there is consensus on the clinical features, treatment, and diagnosis of common types of breast cancer, particularly invasive ductal carcinoma. However, for certain rare types of breast cancer, such as medullary breast cancer (MBC), there is no standardized treatment due to its low incidence. Primary medullary breast cancer (MBC) was first defined as one of the subtypes of invasive and malignant breast cancer by Ridolfi in 1977 [ 2 ]. While some studies indicate that MBC is the most prevalent subtype of rare breast cancer [ 3 ], others suggest that mucinous breast cancer is more common [ 4 ]. MBC accounts for 3%-5% of all types of breast cancer [ 5 ]. The histopathological characteristics of MBC include a syncytial growth pattern exceeding 75%, non-invasive borders, infiltration by lymphatic plasma cells, and nuclei that are classified as grade 2 or 3[ 2 ]. In terms of immunohistochemistry, most MBCs show loss of progesterone (PR), estrogen (ER), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) [ 6 ]. The low incidence of MBC makes it challenging to analyze its clinicopathological features and prognosis [ 7 ]. Currently, most relevant literature comprises individual cases, with few studies published in articles about breast cancer clinical trials, cell biology, immunology, and molecular biology, highlighting its classification as a subtype of breast cancer[ 8 ]. Previous research indicates that the 10-year overall survival rate for MBC patients is approximately 80%, higher than that of patients with invasive cancer of the same grade[ 9 ]. To date, there is no unified treatment plan for MBC patients, so most doctors still follow the standard treatment plan for invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast[ 10 ]. Currently, early-stage MBC, as a special type of invasive breast cancer, generally follows the treatment protocols for invasive ductal carcinoma. The comprehensive treatment strategy mainly involves surgery, supplemented by radiotherapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and targeted therapy. Given that MBC is classified as a low-grade malignant tumor, the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for treatment remains debated. Physicians require precise prognostic indicators to identify patients with an elevated risk of recurrence during the process of individualized clinical decision-making. In our prior research endeavors, a prediction model was constructed to single out the high-risk MBC cohort for adjuvant chemotherapy, thereby averting the physical and economic adversities associated with chemotherapy for patients in the medium- and low-risk categories. In the current study, we sought to establish a risk prediction model using data from the SEER database and to identify those patients who may benefit from radiotherapy[ 11 – 13 ]. Materials and methods Data collection and screening criteria The data were sourced from the SEER database. Patient data diagnosed with breast cancer between 2001 and 2018 were downloaded from the SEER database using SEER*Stat Version 8.3.8, developed by the National Cancer Institute and updated in November 2018. As the SEER database is accessible to users worldwide, formal consent is not needed for this study. Therefore, the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University is exempt from review. Patient data were included in the analysis if they met the following criteria: female, diagnosed with medullary carcinoma (ICD-0-3 8510/3), and diagnosed between 2010 and 2018 (HER2 information is unavailable for diagnoses before 2010). Patients were excluded from this analysis for the following reasons: lack of information on race, marital status, or grade; lack of definite AJCC TNM stages; T0, Tis, or M1; lack of ER, PR, or HER2 status; and patients without surgical treatment. Ultimately, 667 patients were included in this study for analysis. Among them, 343 (51.4%) patients who received radiotherapy were included in the radiotherapy group, and 324 (48.6%) patients who did not receive radiotherapy were included in the no radiotherapy group to construct a nomogram. The detailed flowchart for this study is presented in Fig. 1 . Covariates The following clinical and pathological features were the variables of this study: age at diagnosis, race, marital status, grade, T stage, N stage, histology, ER status, PR status, HER2 status, chemotherapy status, radiotherapy status, and follow-up information. Outcomes The main endpoints of this study were overall survival time (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival time (BCSS). OS was defined as death associated with any cause from the beginning of diagnosis to the last follow-up outcome, and BCSS was defined as people who had not died from breast cancer over a certain period after diagnosis. All data were available in the SEER database, and the TNM criteria for breast cancer was the eighth edition of the AJCC clinical staging criteria. Statistical Analysis The study population was randomly divided into a training group and a validation group, with a split ratio of 4:1. The training group was responsible for developing the nomogram, prediction model, and risk stratification system. The data of the validation group were used to validate the model. The hormone receptor (HR) state combines the expressions of ER and PR, categorized into four groups: ER+/PR-, ER-/PR-, ER-/PR+, and ER+/PR+. The expression statuses of HR and HER2 were combined to define the subtype state, which includes HR-/HER2-, HR-/HER2+, HR+/HER2-, and HR+/HER2+. All statistical analyses were carried out using R version 4.2.1 software (The R Foundation - The R Project for Statistical Computing; http://www.r-project.org ). Fisher’s exact test or Chi-square test was used to evaluate the differences between the radiotherapy cohort and the non-radiotherapy cohort. The variables with P < 0.05 in univariable Cox analysis were incorporated into multivariable Cox analysis to determine independent prognostic factors of the non-radiotherapy cohort, and the HR was the 95% confidence interval. The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan‒Meier method, and the differences between the curves were compared using the Log-rank test. A nomogram was constructed through R to provide visualized risk predictions. Then, the accuracy of the nomogram was evaluated through discrimination and calibration assessment. We used calibration curves and 3-year and 5-year ROC curves to evaluate the predictive performance of the model. The larger the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the higher the predictive accuracy of the nomogram. The closer the calibration curve is to the ideal curve, the less biased the prediction of the model is. In addition, a risk stratification system was created based on the total score of each patient obtained from the nomogram. The best cut-off value for the overall score of each patient was then determined using X-Tile software (Robert L. Camp, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA). The patients were subsequently split into two risk groups—the low-risk group and the high-risk group—using these values. Finally, we used Kaplan–Meier curves to illustrate and compare the overall survival of patients in different risk groups. Results Patient characteristics in the radiotherapy cohort and the no radiotherapy cohort A total of 667 patients were identified from the SEER database between 2010 and 2018. Among them, 343 received radiotherapy, and the remaining 324 did not receive radiotherapy. Table 1 displays the demographic, clinicopathological, and treatment status differences between the two groups. Notably, patients in the radiotherapy group were frequently older than those in the non-radiotherapy group, had a significantly greater percentage of N1-N3 stage, ER-/PR+, and had chemotherapy. Patients receiving radiotherapy had longer overall survival (OS) compared to patients not receiving radiotherapy (P = 0.012), but breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) was not significantly different between the radiotherapy cohort and the non-radiotherapy cohort (P = 0.12) ( Fig. 2 ) . There was no significant difference between the two data sets (P > 0.05) when all study populations were randomly assigned to the training cohorts or validation cohorts, which included 535 patients in the training set and 132 patients in the validation set ( Table 2 ). Table 1 Clinicopathological characteristics of the study populations. Characteristics No Radiotherapy Yes Radiotherapy p value No. patients n = 324 n = 343 Age at diagnosis (%) =60 86 ( 26.5) 123 ( 35.9) Race (%) Black 78 ( 24.1) 89 ( 25.9) 0.737 White 215 ( 66.4) 226 ( 65.9) Other 31 ( 9.6) 28 ( 8.2) Marital status (%) Married 158 ( 48.8) 189 ( 55.1) 0.119 Single 166 ( 51.2) 154 ( 44.9) Grade (%) I-II 22 ( 6.8) 18 ( 5.2) 0.499 III-IV 302 ( 93.2) 325 ( 94.8) T stage (%) T1 132 ( 40.7) 158 ( 46.1) 0.136 T2 175 ( 54.0) 160 ( 46.6) T3-T4 17 ( 5.2) 25 ( 7.3) N stage (%) N0 267 ( 82.4) 258 ( 75.2) 0.03 N1-N3 57 ( 17.6) 85 ( 24.8) ER status (%) Negative 206 ( 63.6) 231 ( 67.3) 0.346 Positive 118 ( 36.4) 112 ( 32.7) PR status (%) Negative 269 ( 83.0) 275 ( 80.2) 0.396 Positive 55 ( 17.0) 68 ( 19.8) HER2 status (%) Negative 290 ( 89.5) 304 ( 88.6) 0.812 Positive 34 ( 10.5) 39 ( 11.4) HR status (%) ER-/PR- 201 ( 62.0) 212 ( 61.8) 0.043 ER-/PR+ 5 ( 1.5) 19 ( 5.5) ER+/PR- 68 ( 21.0) 63 ( 18.4) ER+/PR+ 50 ( 15.4) 49 ( 14.3) Subtype (%) HR-/HER2- 180 ( 55.6) 189 ( 55.1) 0.979 HR-/HER2+ 21 ( 6.5) 23 ( 6.7) HR+/HER2- 110 ( 34.0) 115 ( 33.5) HR+/HER2+ 13 ( 4.0) 16 ( 4.7) Chemotherapy (%) No/Unknown 109 ( 33.6) 60 ( 17.5) < 0.001 Yes 215 ( 66.4) 283 ( 82.5) ER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor. Table 2 Comparison of clinicopathological features between the training set and the validation set. Characteristics Training set Validation set p value No. patients n = 535 n = 132 Age at diagnosis (%) =60 175 ( 32.7) 34 ( 25.8) Race (%) Black 129 ( 24.1) 38 ( 28.8) 0.433 White 360 ( 67.3) 81 ( 61.4) Other 46 ( 8.6) 13 ( 9.8) Marital status (%) Married 281 ( 52.5) 66 ( 50.0) 0.673 Single 254 ( 47.5) 66 ( 50.0) Grade (%) I-II 31 ( 5.8) 9 ( 6.8) 0.811 III-IV 504 ( 94.2) 123 ( 93.2) T stage (%) T1 233 ( 43.6) 57 ( 43.2) 0.986 T2 268 ( 50.1) 67 ( 50.8) T3-T4 34 ( 6.4) 8 ( 6.1) N stage (%) N0 421 ( 78.7) 104 ( 78.8) 1 N1-N3 114 ( 21.3) 28 ( 21.2) ER status (%) Negative 349 ( 65.2) 88 ( 66.7) 0.835 Positive 186 ( 34.8) 44 ( 33.3) PR status (%) Negative 437 ( 81.7) 107 ( 81.1) 0.968 Positive 98 ( 18.3) 25 ( 18.9) HER2 status (%) Negative 474 ( 88.6) 120 ( 90.9) 0.545 Positive 61 ( 11.4) 12 ( 9.1) HR status (%) ER-/PR- 329 ( 61.5) 84 ( 63.6) 0.858 ER-/PR+ 20 ( 3.7) 4 ( 3.0) ER+/PR- 108 ( 20.2) 23 ( 17.4) ER+/PR+ 78 ( 14.6) 21 ( 15.9) Subtype (%) HR-/HER2- 295 ( 55.1) 74 ( 56.1) 0.34 HR-/HER2+ 34 ( 6.4) 10 ( 7.6) HR+/HER2- 179 ( 33.5) 46 ( 34.8) HR+/HER2+ 27 ( 5.0) 2 ( 1.5) Chemotherapy (%) No/Unknown 143 ( 26.7) 26 ( 19.7) 0.121 Yes 392 ( 73.3) 106 ( 80.3) Radiotherapy (%) No 259 ( 48.4) 65 ( 49.2) 0.941 Yes 276 ( 51.6) 67 ( 50.8) ER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor. Univariate and multivariate analyses In the training set, Univariate Cox regression analysis was used to determine the clinical features with P < 0.05. The results included age at diagnosis, pathological grade, T stage, N stage, and chemotherapy status. The subtype was relatively close and was also put into the follow-up analysis. Then, these characteristics were analyzed in the multivariate Cox regression model ( Table 3 ) . This suggests that clinical features related to survival include age at diagnosis (< 60 as a reference; ≥60: HR 2.18, 95% CI 1.07–4.44), T stage (T1 as a reference; T2: HR 2.63, 95% CI 1.13–6.11; T3-T4: HR 4.38, 95% CI 1.27–15.1), N stage (N0 as a reference; N1-N3: HR 2.89, 95% CI 1.41–5.9), subtype (HR-/HER2- as a reference; HR-/HER2+: HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.15–2.72; HR+/HER2-: HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.14–0.89; HR+/HER2+: HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.17–3.29), and chemotherapy status (No/Unknown as a reference; Yes: HR 0.27, 95% CI 0.13–0.55). It is worth noting that the result of the pathological grade (I-II as a reference; III-IV: HR 0.26, 95% CI 0.09–0.71) is contrary to common understanding; this may be due to the imbalance of the baseline included in the population. I-II accounts for only 6.0% of the population, while III-IV accounts for 94.0%. This may lead to a relatively better prognosis for the vast majority of patients; therefore, this feature was excluded. Finally, the remaining five clinical predictive features were incorporated into the nomogram for predicting OS. Table 3 Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses of OS in the training set. Characteristics Univariate Multivariate HR 95%CI p-value HR 95%CI p value Age at diagnosis (%) =60 2.72 1.38–5.35 0.004 2.18 1.07–4.44 0.032 Race (%) Black 1 - White 0.71 0.34–1.52 0.381 - - - Other 0.85 0.23–3.09 0.806 - - - Marital status (%) Married 1 - Single 1.32 0.67–2.59 0.418 - - - Grade (%) I-II 1 1 III-IV 0.33 0.13–0.86 0.023 0.26 0.09–0.71 0.009 T stage (%) T1 1 1 T2 1.97 0.90–4.29 0.090 2.63 1.13–6.11 0.024 T3-T4 3.73 1.15–12.13 0.029 4.38 1.27–15.1 0.019 N stage (%) N0 1 1 N1-N3 2.59 1.31–5.13 0.006 2.89 1.41–5.9 0.004 ER status (%) Negative 1 - Positive 0.61 0.27–1.34 0.218 - - - PR status (%) Negative 1 - Positive 0.40 0.12–1.32 0.132 - - - HER2 status (%) Negative 1 - Positive 0.98 0.35–2.79 0.971 - - - HR status (%) ER-/PR- 1 - ER-/PR+ 0.00 0-Inf 0.997 - - - ER+/PR- 0.66 0.25–1.71 0.389 - - - ER+/PR+ 0.47 0.14–1.55 0.214 - - - Subtype (%) HR-/HER2- 1 1 HR-/HER2+ 0.68 0.16–2.86 0.595 0.64 0.15–2.72 0.543 HR+/HER2- 0.43 0.17–1.04 0.062 0.36 0.14–0.89 0.027 HR+/HER2+ 0.90 0.21–3.82 0.888 0.75 0.17–3.29 0.699 Chemotherapy (%) No/Unknown 1 1 Yes 0.31 0.16–0.62 0.001 0.27 0.13–0.55 0.000 ER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor. Establishment of a prognostic nomogram and validation Age at diagnosis, T stage, N stage, subtype, and treatment status were shown to be five independent prognostic markers based on multivariate Cox regression and generated a predicted nomogram ( Fig. 3 ) . Each clinical trait has a score assigned to it, making it simple to add up all five scores, draw a vertical line connecting the total score to the survival probability axis, and then calculate the anticipated 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) probabilities. The nomogram revealed that chemotherapy, followed by T stage, N stage, subtype, and age at diagnosis, had a substantial impact on prognosis. The prognostic model predicted overall survival (OS) with excellent performance, and the 3-year and 5-year AUC of the training group were 0.777 and 0.775, respectively. On the other hand, the 3-year and 5-year AUC of the validation set were 0.747 and 0.712, respectively ( Fig. 4 ) . The outcomes all demonstrated that the prediction model had good accuracy. In addition, the 3-year and 5-year calibration diagrams of the training and validation groups further showed good consistency between the expected and actual outcomes ( Fig. 5 A-D ). Benefits of Receiving Radiotherapy in Different Stratifications We assigned each variable according to the nomogram, and patients were divided into two prognostic cohorts based on the optimal cut-off value using X-tile software: the low-risk cohort (548 out of 667, 82.66%, total score ≤ 215) and the high-risk cohort (119 out of 667, 17.84%, total score > 215) ( Table 4 ) . In the total population, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that there was a significant difference between low-risk and high-risk patients in OS. The low-risk cohort had a better prognosis than the high-risk cohort in both the training set (P < 0.0001) and the verification set (P = 0.00046) ( Fig. 6 a–c ) . Radiotherapy improved the prognosis of low-risk MBC patients compared to their non-radiotherapy-receiving counterparts (P = 0.017), while radiotherapy was not beneficial for patients in the high-risk cohort (P = 0.47). In the training cohort, radiotherapy improved the prognosis of the low-risk population (P = 0.018) but not in the high-risk population (P = 0.74). In the verification cohort, radiotherapy had no significant effect on the prognosis of the low-risk population (P = 0.52) or the high-risk population (P = 0.39) ( Fig. 7 a–f ). Table 4 The risk score of each independent prognostic factor. Characteristics points Age at diagnosis (%) =60 58 T stage (%) T1 0 T2 58 T3-T4 96 N stage (%) N0 0 N1-N3 85 Subtype (%) HR-/HER2- 70 HR-/HER2+ 30 HR+/HER2- 0 HR+/HER2+ 64 Chemotherapy (%) No/Unknown 100 Yes 0 HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor. Discussion Medullary carcinoma is a unique subgroup of breast cancer, accounting for less than 5% of all advanced breast cancers[ 17 – 19 ]. Rudolph proposed six fundamental criteria for identifying and diagnosing medullary carcinoma in 1977, along with a definition of MBC[ 2 ]. Studies using immunohistochemical staining and gene expression analyses revealed that the fraction of triple-negative subtypes of MBCs expression (ER, PR, and Her2) was much greater[ 6 , 20 , 21 ]. In our study, the clinical characteristics of 667 patients with MBC were analysed, and most of them were hormone receptor-negative cases. Patients before 2010 were not enrolled in this study, which is related to the cases in which Her2 expression was not reported before the 2010 SEER database. In terms of prognosis, the prognosis of medullary breast cancer is considered to be better than that of other common histological breast cancer subtypes. The 5-year survival rate of patients with MBC ranges from 49–83%[ 9 , 22 ]. This is consistent with our data. Because of its good prognosis, there is still no definite conclusion about the role of radiotherapy in patients with MBC. In our research, the OS was longer for patients with radiotherapy than for those without radiotherapy (P = 0.012), but BCSS was not significantly different between the radiotherapy cohort and the no radiotherapy cohort (P = 0.12). The nomogram is a reliable tool for predicting patient survival. Thus, creating a risk-scoring system is crucial for identifying MBC patients who could benefit from post-surgery radiotherapy while balancing efficacy and toxicity. To identify which groups may benefit from radiotherapy, we analyzed data from MBC patients in the SEER database (2010–2018) using univariate and multivariate Cox analyses. This allowed us to identify five independent prognostic factors: age at diagnosis, T stage, N stage, subtype (HR-/HER2-, HR-/HER2+, HR+/HER2-, and HR+/HER2+), and chemotherapy status. Next, we developed a prognostic hierarchical model that accurately predicts individual outcomes. We used this model to classify the entire cohort into different risk groups to identify the most suitable candidates for radiotherapy. In our study, patients in the radiotherapy cohort were generally older and had a significantly higher prevalence of chemotherapy, N1-N3 stage, and ER-/PR + status compared to those in the non-radiotherapy group. Previous studies have identified several independent factors that predict survival in MBC, including increased age, lymph node metastasis, negative hormone receptors, and higher AJCC staging, all of which are associated with shorter overall survival.This is consistent with the results we obtained. However, previous studies also found that black MBC patients have an 84% increased risk of death compared with white patients, and we did not reach a similar conclusion[ 23 , 24 ]. Notably, the pathological grading results for MBC patients showed that those with grades III-IV (HR 0.26, CI 95% 0.09–0.71) had outcomes that contradicted the general findings. This discrepancy may be attributed to an imbalance in the baseline characteristics of the population studied. I-II accounts for only 6.0% of the population, while III-IV accounts for 94.0%. This may lead to a relatively better prognosis for the vast majority of patients. Consequently, we excluded this characteristic from the subsequent statistical analysis. In our study, patients in the low-risk group gained survival benefits from radiotherapy in both the general population and the training population. The reason why there is no benefit in the high-risk group may be the impact of the population baseline on the benefits of radiotherapy. In Table 5 , we can see that 68.9% of the high-risk group is older than 60 years old, while only 23.2% of the low-risk group is. Previous research has revealed that radiotherapy's hazardous side effects may negatively impact the quality of life associated with improved outcomes[ 25 ]. Because radiation delivers high maximum tolerated doses directly to the chest wall, underlying tissues such as the heart may be included in the treatment field and become compromised. According to previous studies, patients receiving radiotherapy may develop heart failure, ischemic heart disease, cardiac dysfunction, cardiomyopathy, and conduction problems, or their pre-existing conditions may worsen[ 26 – 28 ]. The elderly often have special considerations compared with the general cancer population. Elderly patients are often frail with comorbidities or poor cardiopulmonary function that limit their ability to receive radiotherapy[ 29 ]. For these patients, it is important to recognize that radiotherapy may not provide survival benefits, which explains why high-risk patients do not experience improved outcomes. Table 5 Comparison of clinicopathological features between the high risk group and the low risk group. Characteristics high risk group low risk group p-value patients n = 119 n = 548 Age at diagnosis (%) < 60 37 ( 31.1) 421 ( 76.8) =60 82 ( 68.9) 127 ( 23.2) Race (%) Black 34 ( 28.6) 133 ( 24.3) 0.338 Other 7 ( 5.9) 52 ( 9.5) White 78 ( 65.5) 363 ( 66.2) Marital (%) Married 42 ( 35.3) 305 ( 55.7) < 0.001 Single 77 ( 64.7) 243 ( 44.3) Grade (%) I-II 6 ( 5.0) 34 ( 6.2) 0.786 III-IV 113 ( 95.0) 514 ( 93.8) T (%) T1 29 ( 24.4) 261 ( 47.6) < 0.001 T2 69 ( 58.0) 266 ( 48.5) T3-T4 21 ( 17.6) 21 ( 3.8) N (%) N0 73 ( 61.3) 452 ( 82.5) < 0.001 N1-N3 46 ( 38.7) 96 ( 17.5) ER (%) Negative 95 ( 79.8) 342 ( 62.4) < 0.001 Positive 24 ( 20.2) 206 ( 37.6) PR (%) Negative 108 ( 90.8) 436 ( 79.6) 0.006 Positive 11 ( 9.2) 112 ( 20.4) HER2 (%) Negative 106 ( 89.1) 488 ( 89.1) 1 Positive 13 ( 10.9) 60 ( 10.9) HR (%) ER-/PR- 94 ( 79.0) 319 ( 58.2) < 0.001 ER-/PR+ 1 ( 0.8) 23 ( 4.2) ER+/PR- 14 ( 11.8) 117 ( 21.4) ER+/PR+ 10 ( 8.4) 89 ( 16.2) Subtype (%) HR-/HER2- 87 ( 73.1) 282 ( 51.5) < 0.001 HR-/HER2+ 7 ( 5.9) 37 ( 6.8) HR+/HER2- 19 ( 16.0) 206 ( 37.6) HR+/HER2+ 6 ( 5.0) 23 ( 4.2) Radiation (%) No 67 ( 56.3) 257 ( 46.9) 0.079 Yes 52 ( 43.7) 291 ( 53.1) Chemotherapy (%) No/Unknown 90 ( 75.6) 79 ( 14.4) < 0.001 Yes 29 ( 24.4) 469 ( 85.6) ER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor. MBC patients vary greatly, making risk adaptation strategies sensible. The SEER database offers extensive data on MBC patients, enhancing the efficiency and ease of our research. However, our research has limitations, including selection biases in retrospective studies where high-risk patients are more likely to receive radiotherapy. Retrospective studies have selection biases, and high-risk patients are more likely to be selected for radiotherapy. Therefore, survival outcomes may be affected by selection biases. Furthermore, various breast cancer treatments can significantly impact patient prognosis differently. The SEER database lacks data on patients who have received targeted therapy, endocrine therapy, and chemotherapy. Furthermore, a better model may need to consider tumor gene profiles. Finally, the nomogram model of this paper has not been externally verified. While this study suggests that radiotherapy benefits low-risk patients, there may still be unaccounted factors affecting overall survival, which the current database cannot explain. Whether radiotherapy can improve the long-term survival rate of low-risk patients depends on additional verification through the expansion of sample size and long-term follow-up. These results are expected to provide assistance for the design of future clinical studies. Conclusion In summary, we have developed a prognostic hierarchical model that can predict the individual prognosis of MBC patients with good accuracy and discrimination. Using this prognostic stratified model, the whole cohort is divided into different risk groups, which is expected to promote the individual treatment of MBC patients with radiotherapy so that patients can benefit the most from radiotherapy. Statements & Declarations Funding This work was supported by the Shaanxi Key Research and Development Program (NO. 2022SF-031). Competing Interests The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Author Contributions All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Conceptualization, Jian Zhang, Jianjun He, and Lizhao Wang; Data curation, Lizhao Wang, Heyan Chen; Formal analysis, Lizhao Wang, and Yu Yan; Funding acquisition, Yu Yan; Investigation, Lizhao Wang; Methodology, Lizhao Wang and Heyan Chen; Project administration, Jianjun He; Software, Lizhao Wang and Heyan Chen; Supervision, Jianjun He and Guanqun Ge; Visualization, Lizhao Wang and Heyan Chen; Writing-original draft, Lizhao Wang; Writing-review & editing, Jianjun He and Ke Wang. Data Availability The current data were obtained from the SEER database using SEER*Stat Version 8.3.8 (https://seer.cancer.gov/). Ethics approval Since the SEER database is available to global users, for this type of study formal consent is not required. Therefore, the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University is exempted from review. Consent to participate Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Informed Consent No informed consent from patients was required for this study, as the analysis used anonymous data from the SEER database. The authors have signed the SEER database use agreement and obtained permission for access and use of the SEER database. Acknowledgment We would like to thank the staff members of The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER). References Wu Y, Liu F, Luo S, et al (2019) Co-expression of key gene modules and pathways of human breast cancer cell lines. Biosci Rep 39:BSR20181925. https://doi.org/10.1042/BSR20181925 Ridolfi RL, Rosen PP, Port A, et al (1977) Medullary carcinoma of the breast: a clinicopathologic study with 10 year follow-up. 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Cancer Res 66:4636–4644. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-0031 Qin W, Qi F, Guo M, et al (2021) Hormone Receptor Status May Impact the Survival Benefit Between Medullary Breast Carcinoma and Atypical Medullary Carcinoma of the Breast: A Population-Based Study. Front Oncol 11:677207. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.677207 Waks AG, Winer EP (2019) Breast Cancer Treatment: A Review. JAMA 321:288–300. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.19323 Huober J, Gelber S, Goldhirsch A, et al (2012) Prognosis of medullary breast cancer: analysis of 13 International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) trials. Ann Oncol Off J Eur Soc Med Oncol 23:2843–2851. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mds105 Acevedo C, Amaya C, López-Guerra J-L (2014) Rare breast tumors: Review of the literature. Rep Pract Oncol Radiother J Gt Cancer Cent Poznan Pol Soc Radiat Oncol 19:267–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpor.2013.08.006 Iasonos A, Schrag D, Raj GV, Panageas KS (2008) How to build and interpret a nomogram for cancer prognosis. J Clin Oncol Off J Am Soc Clin Oncol 26:1364–1370. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2007.12.9791 Wu J, Zhang H, Li L, et al (2020) A nomogram for predicting overall survival in patients with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: A population-based analysis. Cancer Commun Lond Engl 40:301–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/cac2.12067 Park SY (2018) Nomogram: An analogue tool to deliver digital knowledge. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 155:1793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2017.12.107 Balachandran VP, Gonen M, Smith JJ, DeMatteo RP (2015) Nomograms in oncology: more than meets the eye. Lancet Oncol 16:e173-180. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(14)71116-7 Blanche P, Dartigues J-F, Jacqmin-Gadda H (2013) Estimating and comparing time-dependent areas under receiver operating characteristic curves for censored event times with competing risks. Stat Med 32:5381–5397. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.5958 Camp RL, Dolled-Filhart M, Rimm DL (2004) X-tile: a new bio-informatics tool for biomarker assessment and outcome-based cut-point optimization. Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res 10:7252–7259. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-04-0713 Pezzi CM, Patel-Parekh L, Cole K, et al (2007) Characteristics and treatment of metaplastic breast cancer: analysis of 892 cases from the National Cancer Data Base. Ann Surg Oncol 14:166–173. https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-006-9124-7 Avigdor BE, Beierl K, Gocke CD, et al (2017) Whole-Exome Sequencing of Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma Indicates Monoclonality with Associated Ductal Carcinoma Component. Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res 23:4875–4884. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-0108 Ng CKY, Piscuoglio S, Geyer FC, et al (2017) The Landscape of Somatic Genetic Alterations in Metaplastic Breast Carcinomas. Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res 23:3859–3870. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-2857 Romaniuk A, Lyndin M, Sikora V, et al (2015) Histological and immunohistochemical features of medullary breast cancer. Folia Med Cracov 55:41–48 Cao A-Y, He M, Huang L, et al (2013) Clinicopathologic characteristics at diagnosis and the survival of patients with medullary breast carcinoma in China: a comparison with infiltrating ductal carcinoma-not otherwise specified. World J Surg Oncol 11:91. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7819-11-91 The relatively favorable prognosis of medullary carcinoma of the breast - PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18144972/. Accessed 21 Oct 2022 Martinez SR, Beal SH, Canter RJ, et al (2011) Medullary carcinoma of the breast: a population-based perspective. Med Oncol Northwood Lond Engl 28:738–744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-010-9526-z Kleer CG (2009) Carcinoma of the breast with medullary-like features: diagnostic challenges and relationship with BRCA1 and EZH2 functions. Arch Pathol Lab Med 133:1822–1825. https://doi.org/10.5858/133.11.1822 Bellière A, Girard N, Chapet O, et al (2009) Feasibility of high-dose three-dimensional radiation therapy in the treatment of localised non-small-cell lung cancer. Cancer Radiother J Soc Francaise Radiother Oncol 13:298–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canrad.2009.04.004 Carver JR, Shapiro CL, Ng A, et al (2007) American Society of Clinical Oncology clinical evidence review on the ongoing care of adult cancer survivors: cardiac and pulmonary late effects. J Clin Oncol Off J Am Soc Clin Oncol 25:3991–4008. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2007.10.9777 Hardy D, Liu C-C, Cormier JN, et al (2010) Cardiac toxicity in association with chemotherapy and radiation therapy in a large cohort of older patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Ann Oncol Off J Eur Soc Med Oncol 21:1825–1833. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdq042 Pfeffer MR, Blumenfeld P (2017) The Changing Paradigm of Radiotherapy in the Elderly Population. Cancer J 23:8 Park CH, Bonomi M, Cesaretti J, et al (2011) Effect of radiotherapy planning complexity on survival of elderly patients with unresected localized lung cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 81:706–711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.06.060 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in European Journal of Medical Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 23 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 12 May, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 08 May, 2025 First submitted to journal 03 May, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6584933","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":468065089,"identity":"44ac2cd7-1800-453c-aade-24ad1dd63471","order_by":0,"name":"Jian Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jian","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":468065090,"identity":"9c6d5d54-4c39-46a5-a4cb-ae776895bb04","order_by":1,"name":"Lizhao Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lizhao","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":468065091,"identity":"715cfbb6-0ebd-441d-8aa9-a9b355877680","order_by":2,"name":"Heyan Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Heyan","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":468065092,"identity":"c9c53a43-8ba3-422b-83f6-4df1d05b9dce","order_by":3,"name":"Yu Yan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yu","middleName":"","lastName":"Yan","suffix":""},{"id":468065093,"identity":"847e072a-44fe-4669-b3e5-4ee4756344fc","order_by":4,"name":"Guanqun Ge","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guanqun","middleName":"","lastName":"Ge","suffix":""},{"id":468065096,"identity":"d4295f10-8dc5-4f0d-85c5-b178b384b9ed","order_by":5,"name":"Ke Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ke","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":468065098,"identity":"738199c5-0cff-4228-8087-cfcd6da2f8a3","order_by":6,"name":"Jianjun He","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCcYGBsYGNmY29uYDBz5UkKKFn+dY4sEZZ4jSAsRAXQySM3KMD/O2EKGDf3Zz24OfO/jYDW7kfDjA28Agzy92gIAldw62G/aeYWM2OPN2wwHJHQyGM2cn4NdiIJHYJsHbBtRyPHfDAcMzDAkGt4nQIvkXpOVAzoMDiW1EapEG2SLZkcNw4CAxWiRuALXItoED2eBgwxkJwn7hn5H+TPJt27FkYFQ+/vynwkaeX5qAFig4lgyzlSjlIFBjR7TSUTAKRsEoGHkAAMDqSPH5PXbyAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jianjun","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-03 15:38:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6584933/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6584933/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-025-03558-4","type":"published","date":"2025-12-02T15:57:51+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":84277970,"identity":"095c0a0e-21fb-4fa9-8138-7d7dc810bc02","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-10 06:03:50","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":73751,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe flowchart of the population enrolled in our study. \u003c/strong\u003eER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/0190758a871dfd2956ee3dfa.png"},{"id":84276898,"identity":"171e9602-3cb3-4e9d-94a6-67391f7caa43","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-10 05:44:58","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":54907,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKaplan‒Meier curves of OS and BCSS of the radiotherapy and non-radiotherapy groups in the total population.\u003c/strong\u003e OS, overall survival; BCSS, breast cancer-specific survival.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/011f4ad5f5dfa4c2f0f107ce.png"},{"id":84277170,"identity":"c036045c-e9f7-4794-8622-1896e5dbb8c3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-10 06:01:24","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":71482,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNomogram for predicting 3- and 5-year OS in patients with MBC.\u003c/strong\u003e To use the nomogram, an individual patient’s value is located on each variable axis, and a line is drawn upward to determine the number of points received for each variable value. The sum of these numbers is located on the Total Points axis, and a line is drawn downward to the survival axes to determine the likelihood of 3- or 5-year survival.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/bc2d2093323a8cd38b89c5c1.png"},{"id":84277647,"identity":"5ff96023-0f3f-4198-8ae5-8859afc6da93","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-10 06:02:57","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":34463,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe ROC curves of 3- and 5-year OS of the training set (a) and validation set (b).\u003c/strong\u003e ROC, receiver operating characteristic; AUC, area under the curve. TP, true positive rate; FP, false positive rate.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/1f4a9fb123971fdb4dec0da0.png"},{"id":84276907,"identity":"1ff05e7b-aada-40f2-9a35-513c3e8e3493","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-10 05:44:59","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":54447,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe calibration curve of OS at 3 and 5 years.\u003c/strong\u003e The calibration curve for predicting patient survival at 3 years (a) and 5 years (c) in the training set and at 3 years (b) and 5 years (d) in the validation set. The nomogram-predicted probability of OS is plotted on the x-axis; the actual OS is plotted on the y-axis. The gray lines represent the perfect calibration models in which the predicted probabilities are identical to the actual probabilities.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/553e07dfa039ba905c156c87.png"},{"id":84276900,"identity":"e120bcd4-792b-4153-83d6-6863adf42e5c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-10 05:44:58","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":49838,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKaplan‒Meier curves of OS for patients with MBC in the low- and high-risk groups. \u003c/strong\u003e(a) Total population, (b) Training set, (c) Validation set.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/2fc9d7c14155e1d2f56694d8.png"},{"id":84277377,"identity":"542e1185-7cf0-4150-a8ad-81ddcf1098c2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-10 06:02:09","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":83838,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSurvival benefits of radiotherapy in radiotherapy and non-radiotherapy groups of patients with MBC. \u003c/strong\u003e(a) Total low risk population, (b, c) Training set, (d) Total high risk population, (e, f) Validation set.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/fae743c40d762beee8c4d22b.png"},{"id":97724793,"identity":"578457c8-8c03-40ba-bd2b-4ae656516993","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 16:13:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1853591,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6584933/v1/e5e119f4-0cd3-411a-b756-94cb1d169971.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eA Population-Based Analysis of a Risk Stratification System for Predicting Radiotherapy Benefits in Medullary Breast Carcinoma\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eBreast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women and the leading cause of female mortality [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. Currently, there is consensus on the clinical features, treatment, and diagnosis of common types of breast cancer, particularly invasive ductal carcinoma. However, for certain rare types of breast cancer, such as medullary breast cancer (MBC), there is no standardized treatment due to its low incidence.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimary medullary breast cancer (MBC) was first defined as one of the subtypes of invasive and malignant breast cancer by Ridolfi in 1977 [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. While some studies indicate that MBC is the most prevalent subtype of rare breast cancer [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e], others suggest that mucinous breast cancer is more common [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. MBC accounts for 3%-5% of all types of breast cancer [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. The histopathological characteristics of MBC include a syncytial growth pattern exceeding 75%, non-invasive borders, infiltration by lymphatic plasma cells, and nuclei that are classified as grade 2 or 3[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. In terms of immunohistochemistry, most MBCs show loss of progesterone (PR), estrogen (ER), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe low incidence of MBC makes it challenging to analyze its clinicopathological features and prognosis [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. Currently, most relevant literature comprises individual cases, with few studies published in articles about breast cancer clinical trials, cell biology, immunology, and molecular biology, highlighting its classification as a subtype of breast cancer[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. Previous research indicates that the 10-year overall survival rate for MBC patients is approximately 80%, higher than that of patients with invasive cancer of the same grade[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. To date, there is no unified treatment plan for MBC patients, so most doctors still follow the standard treatment plan for invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCurrently, early-stage MBC, as a special type of invasive breast cancer, generally follows the treatment protocols for invasive ductal carcinoma. The comprehensive treatment strategy mainly involves surgery, supplemented by radiotherapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and targeted therapy. Given that MBC is classified as a low-grade malignant tumor, the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for treatment remains debated. Physicians require precise prognostic indicators to identify patients with an elevated risk of recurrence during the process of individualized clinical decision-making. In our prior research endeavors, a prediction model was constructed to single out the high-risk MBC cohort for adjuvant chemotherapy, thereby averting the physical and economic adversities associated with chemotherapy for patients in the medium- and low-risk categories. In the current study, we sought to establish a risk prediction model using data from the SEER database and to identify those patients who may benefit from radiotherapy[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR12\" citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData collection and screening criteria\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data were sourced from the SEER database. Patient data diagnosed with breast cancer between 2001 and 2018 were downloaded from the SEER database using SEER*Stat Version 8.3.8, developed by the National Cancer Institute and updated in November 2018. As the SEER database is accessible to users worldwide, formal consent is not needed for this study. Therefore, the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University is exempt from review.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePatient data were included in the analysis if they met the following criteria: female, diagnosed with medullary carcinoma (ICD-0-3 8510/3), and diagnosed between 2010 and 2018 (HER2 information is unavailable for diagnoses before 2010). Patients were excluded from this analysis for the following reasons: lack of information on race, marital status, or grade; lack of definite AJCC TNM stages; T0, Tis, or M1; lack of ER, PR, or HER2 status; and patients without surgical treatment. Ultimately, 667 patients were included in this study for analysis. Among them, 343 (51.4%) patients who received radiotherapy were included in the radiotherapy group, and 324 (48.6%) patients who did not receive radiotherapy were included in the no radiotherapy group to construct a nomogram. The detailed flowchart for this study is presented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCovariates\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe following clinical and pathological features were the variables of this study: age at diagnosis, race, marital status, grade, T stage, N stage, histology, ER status, PR status, HER2 status, chemotherapy status, radiotherapy status, and follow-up information.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOutcomes\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe main endpoints of this study were overall survival time (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival time (BCSS). OS was defined as death associated with any cause from the beginning of diagnosis to the last follow-up outcome, and BCSS was defined as people who had not died from breast cancer over a certain period after diagnosis. All data were available in the SEER database, and the TNM criteria for breast cancer was the eighth edition of the AJCC clinical staging criteria.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study population was randomly divided into a training group and a validation group, with a split ratio of 4:1. The training group was responsible for developing the nomogram, prediction model, and risk stratification system. The data of the validation group were used to validate the model. The hormone receptor (HR) state combines the expressions of ER and PR, categorized into four groups: ER+/PR-, ER-/PR-, ER-/PR+, and ER+/PR+. The expression statuses of HR and HER2 were combined to define the subtype state, which includes HR-/HER2-, HR-/HER2+, HR+/HER2-, and HR+/HER2+.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll statistical analyses were carried out using R version 4.2.1 software (The R Foundation - The R Project for Statistical Computing; \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttp://www.r-project.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://www.r-project.org\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e). Fisher\u0026rsquo;s exact test or Chi-square test was used to evaluate the differences between the radiotherapy cohort and the non-radiotherapy cohort. The variables with P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 in univariable Cox analysis were incorporated into multivariable Cox analysis to determine independent prognostic factors of the non-radiotherapy cohort, and the HR was the 95% confidence interval. The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan‒Meier method, and the differences between the curves were compared using the Log-rank test. A nomogram was constructed through R to provide visualized risk predictions. Then, the accuracy of the nomogram was evaluated through discrimination and calibration assessment. We used calibration curves and 3-year and 5-year ROC curves to evaluate the predictive performance of the model. The larger the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the higher the predictive accuracy of the nomogram. The closer the calibration curve is to the ideal curve, the less biased the prediction of the model is.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, a risk stratification system was created based on the total score of each patient obtained from the nomogram. The best cut-off value for the overall score of each patient was then determined using X-Tile software (Robert L. Camp, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA). The patients were subsequently split into two risk groups\u0026mdash;the low-risk group and the high-risk group\u0026mdash;using these values. Finally, we used Kaplan\u0026ndash;Meier curves to illustrate and compare the overall survival of patients in different risk groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePatient characteristics in the radiotherapy cohort and the no radiotherapy cohort\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA total of 667 patients were identified from the SEER database between 2010 and 2018. Among them, 343 received radiotherapy, and the remaining 324 did not receive radiotherapy. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e displays the demographic, clinicopathological, and treatment status differences between the two groups. Notably, patients in the radiotherapy group were frequently older than those in the non-radiotherapy group, had a significantly greater percentage of N1-N3 stage, ER-/PR+, and had chemotherapy. Patients receiving radiotherapy had longer overall survival (OS) compared to patients not receiving radiotherapy (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.012), but breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) was not significantly different between the radiotherapy cohort and the non-radiotherapy cohort (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.12) \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e. There was no significant difference between the two data sets (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) when all study populations were randomly assigned to the training cohorts or validation cohorts, which included 535 patients in the training set and 132 patients in the validation set \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e).\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClinicopathological characteristics of the study populations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo Radiotherapy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes Radiotherapy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo. patients\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;324\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;343\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge at diagnosis (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e238 ( 73.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e220 ( 64.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;=60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e86 ( 26.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e123 ( 35.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRace (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlack\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78 ( 24.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89 ( 25.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.737\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhite\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e215 ( 66.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e226 ( 65.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31 ( 9.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28 ( 8.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarital status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e158 ( 48.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e189 ( 55.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.119\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e166 ( 51.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154 ( 44.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI-II\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22 ( 6.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18 ( 5.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.499\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIII-IV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e302 ( 93.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e325 ( 94.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e132 ( 40.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e158 ( 46.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.136\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e175 ( 54.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160 ( 46.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT3-T4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17 ( 5.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25 ( 7.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e267 ( 82.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e258 ( 75.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1-N3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57 ( 17.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85 ( 24.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e206 ( 63.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e231 ( 67.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.346\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e118 ( 36.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e112 ( 32.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e269 ( 83.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e275 ( 80.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.396\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55 ( 17.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68 ( 19.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHER2 status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e290 ( 89.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e304 ( 88.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.812\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34 ( 10.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39 ( 11.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e201 ( 62.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e212 ( 61.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 ( 1.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19 ( 5.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68 ( 21.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63 ( 18.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50 ( 15.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49 ( 14.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubtype (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e180 ( 55.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e189 ( 55.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.979\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21 ( 6.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23 ( 6.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e110 ( 34.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e115 ( 33.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 ( 4.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 ( 4.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo/Unknown\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e109 ( 33.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60 ( 17.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e215 ( 66.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e283 ( 82.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparison of clinicopathological features between the training set and the validation set.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTraining set\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eValidation set\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo. patients\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;535\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;132\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge at diagnosis (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e360 ( 67.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98 ( 74.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.151\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;=60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e175 ( 32.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34 ( 25.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRace (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlack\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e129 ( 24.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38 ( 28.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.433\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhite\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e360 ( 67.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81 ( 61.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46 ( 8.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 ( 9.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarital status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e281 ( 52.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66 ( 50.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.673\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e254 ( 47.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66 ( 50.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI-II\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31 ( 5.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 ( 6.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.811\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIII-IV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e504 ( 94.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e123 ( 93.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e233 ( 43.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57 ( 43.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.986\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e268 ( 50.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67 ( 50.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT3-T4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34 ( 6.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 ( 6.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e421 ( 78.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e104 ( 78.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1-N3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e114 ( 21.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28 ( 21.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e349 ( 65.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88 ( 66.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.835\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e186 ( 34.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44 ( 33.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e437 ( 81.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e107 ( 81.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.968\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98 ( 18.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25 ( 18.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHER2 status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e474 ( 88.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e120 ( 90.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.545\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61 ( 11.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 ( 9.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e329 ( 61.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84 ( 63.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.858\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20 ( 3.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 ( 3.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e108 ( 20.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23 ( 17.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78 ( 14.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21 ( 15.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubtype (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e295 ( 55.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74 ( 56.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34 ( 6.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 ( 7.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e179 ( 33.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46 ( 34.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27 ( 5.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 ( 1.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo/Unknown\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e143 ( 26.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26 ( 19.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.121\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e392 ( 73.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e106 ( 80.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRadiotherapy (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e259 ( 48.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65 ( 49.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.941\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e276 ( 51.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67 ( 50.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eUnivariate and multivariate analyses\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the training set, Univariate Cox regression analysis was used to determine the clinical features with P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05. The results included age at diagnosis, pathological grade, T stage, N stage, and chemotherapy status. The subtype was relatively close and was also put into the follow-up analysis. Then, these characteristics were analyzed in the multivariate Cox regression model \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e. This suggests that clinical features related to survival include age at diagnosis (\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;60 as a reference; \u0026ge;60: HR 2.18, 95% CI 1.07\u0026ndash;4.44), T stage (T1 as a reference; T2: HR 2.63, 95% CI 1.13\u0026ndash;6.11; T3-T4: HR 4.38, 95% CI 1.27\u0026ndash;15.1), N stage (N0 as a reference; N1-N3: HR 2.89, 95% CI 1.41\u0026ndash;5.9), subtype (HR-/HER2- as a reference; HR-/HER2+: HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.15\u0026ndash;2.72; HR+/HER2-: HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.14\u0026ndash;0.89; HR+/HER2+: HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.17\u0026ndash;3.29), and chemotherapy status (No/Unknown as a reference; Yes: HR 0.27, 95% CI 0.13\u0026ndash;0.55). It is worth noting that the result of the pathological grade (I-II as a reference; III-IV: HR 0.26, 95% CI 0.09\u0026ndash;0.71) is contrary to common understanding; this may be due to the imbalance of the baseline included in the population. I-II accounts for only 6.0% of the population, while III-IV accounts for 94.0%. This may lead to a relatively better prognosis for the vast majority of patients; therefore, this feature was excluded. Finally, the remaining five clinical predictive features were incorporated into the nomogram for predicting OS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnivariate and multivariate Cox analyses of OS in the training set.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnivariate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMultivariate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge at diagnosis (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;=60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.38\u0026ndash;5.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.07\u0026ndash;4.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRace (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlack\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhite\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.34\u0026ndash;1.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.381\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.23\u0026ndash;3.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.806\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarital status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.67\u0026ndash;2.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.418\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI-II\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIII-IV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.13\u0026ndash;0.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.023\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.09\u0026ndash;0.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.90\u0026ndash;4.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.090\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.13\u0026ndash;6.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT3-T4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.15\u0026ndash;12.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.029\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.27\u0026ndash;15.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1-N3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.31\u0026ndash;5.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.41\u0026ndash;5.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.27\u0026ndash;1.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.218\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.12\u0026ndash;1.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.132\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHER2 status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.35\u0026ndash;2.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.971\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR status (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0-Inf\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.997\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.25\u0026ndash;1.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.389\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.14\u0026ndash;1.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.214\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubtype (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.16\u0026ndash;2.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.595\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.15\u0026ndash;2.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.543\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.17\u0026ndash;1.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.062\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.14\u0026ndash;0.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.027\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.21\u0026ndash;3.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.888\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.17\u0026ndash;3.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.699\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo/Unknown\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.16\u0026ndash;0.62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.13\u0026ndash;0.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEstablishment of a prognostic nomogram and validation\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAge at diagnosis, T stage, N stage, subtype, and treatment status were shown to be five independent prognostic markers based on multivariate Cox regression and generated a predicted nomogram \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e. Each clinical trait has a score assigned to it, making it simple to add up all five scores, draw a vertical line connecting the total score to the survival probability axis, and then calculate the anticipated 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) probabilities. The nomogram revealed that chemotherapy, followed by T stage, N stage, subtype, and age at diagnosis, had a substantial impact on prognosis. The prognostic model predicted overall survival (OS) with excellent performance, and the 3-year and 5-year AUC of the training group were 0.777 and 0.775, respectively. On the other hand, the 3-year and 5-year AUC of the validation set were 0.747 and 0.712, respectively \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e. The outcomes all demonstrated that the prediction model had good accuracy. In addition, the 3-year and 5-year calibration diagrams of the training and validation groups further showed good consistency between the expected and actual outcomes \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003eA-D\u003cb\u003e).\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eBenefits of Receiving Radiotherapy in Different Stratifications\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe assigned each variable according to the nomogram, and patients were divided into two prognostic cohorts based on the optimal cut-off value using X-tile software: the low-risk cohort (548 out of 667, 82.66%, total score\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;215) and the high-risk cohort (119 out of 667, 17.84%, total score\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;215) \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e. In the total population, Kaplan\u0026ndash;Meier analysis showed that there was a significant difference between low-risk and high-risk patients in OS. The low-risk cohort had a better prognosis than the high-risk cohort in both the training set (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.0001) and the verification set (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.00046) \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003ea\u0026ndash;c\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e. Radiotherapy improved the prognosis of low-risk MBC patients compared to their non-radiotherapy-receiving counterparts (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.017), while radiotherapy was not beneficial for patients in the high-risk cohort (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.47). In the training cohort, radiotherapy improved the prognosis of the low-risk population (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.018) but not in the high-risk population (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.74). In the verification cohort, radiotherapy had no significant effect on the prognosis of the low-risk population (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.52) or the high-risk population (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.39) \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003ea\u0026ndash;f\u003cb\u003e).\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe risk score of each independent prognostic factor.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epoints\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge at diagnosis (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;=60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT3-T4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN stage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1-N3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubtype (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo/Unknown\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"2\"\u003eHER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eMedullary carcinoma is a unique subgroup of breast cancer, accounting for less than 5% of all advanced breast cancers[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR18\" citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]. Rudolph proposed six fundamental criteria for identifying and diagnosing medullary carcinoma in 1977, along with a definition of MBC[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Studies using immunohistochemical staining and gene expression analyses revealed that the fraction of triple-negative subtypes of MBCs expression (ER, PR, and Her2) was much greater[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. In our study, the clinical characteristics of 667 patients with MBC were analysed, and most of them were hormone receptor-negative cases. Patients before 2010 were not enrolled in this study, which is related to the cases in which Her2 expression was not reported before the 2010 SEER database.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of prognosis, the prognosis of medullary breast cancer is considered to be better than that of other common histological breast cancer subtypes. The 5-year survival rate of patients with MBC ranges from 49\u0026ndash;83%[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. This is consistent with our data. Because of its good prognosis, there is still no definite conclusion about the role of radiotherapy in patients with MBC. In our research, the OS was longer for patients with radiotherapy than for those without radiotherapy (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.012), but BCSS was not significantly different between the radiotherapy cohort and the no radiotherapy cohort (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.12).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe nomogram is a reliable tool for predicting patient survival. Thus, creating a risk-scoring system is crucial for identifying MBC patients who could benefit from post-surgery radiotherapy while balancing efficacy and toxicity. To identify which groups may benefit from radiotherapy, we analyzed data from MBC patients in the SEER database (2010\u0026ndash;2018) using univariate and multivariate Cox analyses. This allowed us to identify five independent prognostic factors: age at diagnosis, T stage, N stage, subtype (HR-/HER2-, HR-/HER2+, HR+/HER2-, and HR+/HER2+), and chemotherapy status. Next, we developed a prognostic hierarchical model that accurately predicts individual outcomes. We used this model to classify the entire cohort into different risk groups to identify the most suitable candidates for radiotherapy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn our study, patients in the radiotherapy cohort were generally older and had a significantly higher prevalence of chemotherapy, N1-N3 stage, and ER-/PR\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;status compared to those in the non-radiotherapy group. Previous studies have identified several independent factors that predict survival in MBC, including increased age, lymph node metastasis, negative hormone receptors, and higher AJCC staging, all of which are associated with shorter overall survival.This is consistent with the results we obtained. However, previous studies also found that black MBC patients have an 84% increased risk of death compared with white patients, and we did not reach a similar conclusion[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotably, the pathological grading results for MBC patients showed that those with grades III-IV (HR 0.26, CI 95% 0.09\u0026ndash;0.71) had outcomes that contradicted the general findings. This discrepancy may be attributed to an imbalance in the baseline characteristics of the population studied. I-II accounts for only 6.0% of the population, while III-IV accounts for 94.0%. This may lead to a relatively better prognosis for the vast majority of patients. Consequently, we excluded this characteristic from the subsequent statistical analysis. In our study, patients in the low-risk group gained survival benefits from radiotherapy in both the general population and the training population. The reason why there is no benefit in the high-risk group may be the impact of the population baseline on the benefits of radiotherapy. In Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, we can see that 68.9% of the high-risk group is older than 60 years old, while only 23.2% of the low-risk group is. Previous research has revealed that radiotherapy's hazardous side effects may negatively impact the quality of life associated with improved outcomes[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. Because radiation delivers high maximum tolerated doses directly to the chest wall, underlying tissues such as the heart may be included in the treatment field and become compromised. According to previous studies, patients receiving radiotherapy may develop heart failure, ischemic heart disease, cardiac dysfunction, cardiomyopathy, and conduction problems, or their pre-existing conditions may worsen[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR27\" citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]. The elderly often have special considerations compared with the general cancer population. Elderly patients are often frail with comorbidities or poor cardiopulmonary function that limit their ability to receive radiotherapy[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. For these patients, it is important to recognize that radiotherapy may not provide survival benefits, which explains why high-risk patients do not experience improved outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparison of clinicopathological features between the high risk group and the low risk group.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ehigh risk group\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003elow risk group\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epatients\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;119\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;548\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge at diagnosis (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37 ( 31.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e421 ( 76.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;=60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82 ( 68.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e127 ( 23.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRace (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlack\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34 ( 28.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e133 ( 24.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.338\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 ( 5.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52 ( 9.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhite\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78 ( 65.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e363 ( 66.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarital (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42 ( 35.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e305 ( 55.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77 ( 64.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e243 ( 44.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI-II\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 ( 5.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34 ( 6.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.786\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIII-IV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e113 ( 95.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e514 ( 93.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29 ( 24.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e261 ( 47.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69 ( 58.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e266 ( 48.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT3-T4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21 ( 17.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21 ( 3.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e73 ( 61.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e452 ( 82.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1-N3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46 ( 38.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e96 ( 17.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95 ( 79.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e342 ( 62.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24 ( 20.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e206 ( 37.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e108 ( 90.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e436 ( 79.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 ( 9.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e112 ( 20.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHER2 (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e106 ( 89.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e488 ( 89.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 ( 10.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60 ( 10.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e94 ( 79.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e319 ( 58.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER-/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 ( 0.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23 ( 4.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14 ( 11.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e117 ( 21.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eER+/PR+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 ( 8.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89 ( 16.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubtype (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e87 ( 73.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e282 ( 51.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR-/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 ( 5.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37 ( 6.8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19 ( 16.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e206 ( 37.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR+/HER2+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 ( 5.0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23 ( 4.2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRadiation (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67 ( 56.3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e257 ( 46.9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.079\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52 ( 43.7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e291 ( 53.1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo/Unknown\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90 ( 75.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e79 ( 14.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29 ( 24.4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e469 ( 85.6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; HR, hormone receptor.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMBC patients vary greatly, making risk adaptation strategies sensible. The SEER database offers extensive data on MBC patients, enhancing the efficiency and ease of our research. However, our research has limitations, including selection biases in retrospective studies where high-risk patients are more likely to receive radiotherapy. Retrospective studies have selection biases, and high-risk patients are more likely to be selected for radiotherapy. Therefore, survival outcomes may be affected by selection biases. Furthermore, various breast cancer treatments can significantly impact patient prognosis differently. The SEER database lacks data on patients who have received targeted therapy, endocrine therapy, and chemotherapy. Furthermore, a better model may need to consider tumor gene profiles. Finally, the nomogram model of this paper has not been externally verified.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile this study suggests that radiotherapy benefits low-risk patients, there may still be unaccounted factors affecting overall survival, which the current database cannot explain. Whether radiotherapy can improve the long-term survival rate of low-risk patients depends on additional verification through the expansion of sample size and long-term follow-up. These results are expected to provide assistance for the design of future clinical studies.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn summary, we have developed a prognostic hierarchical model that can predict the individual prognosis of MBC patients with good accuracy and discrimination. Using this prognostic stratified model, the whole cohort is divided into different risk groups, which is expected to promote the individual treatment of MBC patients with radiotherapy so that patients can benefit the most from radiotherapy.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Statements \u0026 Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by the Shaanxi Key Research and Development Program (NO. 2022SF-031).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting Interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor Contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors contributed to the study conception and design. Conceptualization, Jian Zhang, Jianjun He, and Lizhao Wang; Data curation, Lizhao Wang, Heyan Chen; Formal analysis, Lizhao Wang, and Yu Yan; Funding acquisition, Yu Yan; Investigation, Lizhao Wang; Methodology, Lizhao Wang and Heyan Chen; Project administration, Jianjun He; Software, Lizhao Wang and Heyan Chen; Supervision, Jianjun He and Guanqun Ge; Visualization, Lizhao Wang and Heyan Chen; Writing-original draft, Lizhao Wang; Writing-review \u0026amp; editing, Jianjun He and Ke Wang.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe current data were obtained from the SEER database using SEER*Stat Version 8.3.8 (https://seer.cancer.gov/).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince the SEER database is available to global users, for this type of study formal consent is not required. Therefore, the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University is exempted from review.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInformed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInformed Consent \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo informed consent from patients was required for this study, as the analysis used anonymous data from the SEER database. The authors have signed the SEER database use agreement and obtained permission for access and use of the SEER database.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank the staff members of The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eWu Y, Liu F, Luo S, et al (2019) Co-expression of key gene modules and pathways of human breast cancer cell lines. Biosci Rep 39:BSR20181925. https://doi.org/10.1042/BSR20181925\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eRidolfi RL, Rosen PP, Port A, et al (1977) Medullary carcinoma of the breast: a clinicopathologic study with 10 year follow-up. Cancer 40:1365\u0026ndash;1385. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0142(197710)40:4\u0026lt;1365::aid-cncr2820400402\u0026gt;3.0.co;2-n\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNtekim AI, Folasire AM, Ali-Gombe M (2019) Survival pattern of rare histological types of breast cancer in a Nigerian institution. Pan Afr Med J 34:114. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2019.34.114.16925\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eGudaviciene D, Steponaviciene L, Meskauskas R, et al (2015) Rare types of breast carcinoma. Open Med Wars Pol 10:92\u0026ndash;96. https://doi.org/10.1515/med-2015-0016\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSinn H-P, Kreipe H (2013) A Brief Overview of the WHO Classification of Breast Tumors, 4th Edition, Focusing on Issues and Updates from the 3rd Edition. Breast Care Basel Switz 8:149\u0026ndash;154. https://doi.org/10.1159/000350774\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBertucci F, Finetti P, Cervera N, et al (2006) Gene expression profiling shows medullary breast cancer is a subgroup of basal breast cancers. Cancer Res 66:4636\u0026ndash;4644. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-0031\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eQin W, Qi F, Guo M, et al (2021) Hormone Receptor Status May Impact the Survival Benefit Between Medullary Breast Carcinoma and Atypical Medullary Carcinoma of the Breast: A Population-Based Study. Front Oncol 11:677207. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.677207\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eWaks AG, Winer EP (2019) Breast Cancer Treatment: A Review. JAMA 321:288\u0026ndash;300. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.19323\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHuober J, Gelber S, Goldhirsch A, et al (2012) Prognosis of medullary breast cancer: analysis of 13 International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) trials. Ann Oncol Off J Eur Soc Med Oncol 23:2843\u0026ndash;2851. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mds105\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAcevedo C, Amaya C, L\u0026oacute;pez-Guerra J-L (2014) Rare breast tumors: Review of the literature. Rep Pract Oncol Radiother J Gt Cancer Cent Poznan Pol Soc Radiat Oncol 19:267\u0026ndash;274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpor.2013.08.006\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eIasonos A, Schrag D, Raj GV, Panageas KS (2008) How to build and interpret a nomogram for cancer prognosis. J Clin Oncol Off J Am Soc Clin Oncol 26:1364\u0026ndash;1370. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2007.12.9791\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eWu J, Zhang H, Li L, et al (2020) A nomogram for predicting overall survival in patients with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: A population-based analysis. Cancer Commun Lond Engl 40:301\u0026ndash;312. https://doi.org/10.1002/cac2.12067\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePark SY (2018) Nomogram: An analogue tool to deliver digital knowledge. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 155:1793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2017.12.107\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBalachandran VP, Gonen M, Smith JJ, DeMatteo RP (2015) Nomograms in oncology: more than meets the eye. Lancet Oncol 16:e173-180. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(14)71116-7\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBlanche P, Dartigues J-F, Jacqmin-Gadda H (2013) Estimating and comparing time-dependent areas under receiver operating characteristic curves for censored event times with competing risks. Stat Med 32:5381\u0026ndash;5397. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.5958\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eCamp RL, Dolled-Filhart M, Rimm DL (2004) X-tile: a new bio-informatics tool for biomarker assessment and outcome-based cut-point optimization. Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res 10:7252\u0026ndash;7259. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-04-0713\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePezzi CM, Patel-Parekh L, Cole K, et al (2007) Characteristics and treatment of metaplastic breast cancer: analysis of 892 cases from the National Cancer Data Base. Ann Surg Oncol 14:166\u0026ndash;173. https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-006-9124-7\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAvigdor BE, Beierl K, Gocke CD, et al (2017) Whole-Exome Sequencing of Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma Indicates Monoclonality with Associated Ductal Carcinoma Component. Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res 23:4875\u0026ndash;4884. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-0108\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNg CKY, Piscuoglio S, Geyer FC, et al (2017) The Landscape of Somatic Genetic Alterations in Metaplastic Breast Carcinomas. Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res 23:3859\u0026ndash;3870. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-2857\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eRomaniuk A, Lyndin M, Sikora V, et al (2015) Histological and immunohistochemical features of medullary breast cancer. Folia Med Cracov 55:41\u0026ndash;48\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eCao A-Y, He M, Huang L, et al (2013) Clinicopathologic characteristics at diagnosis and the survival of patients with medullary breast carcinoma in China: a comparison with infiltrating ductal carcinoma-not otherwise specified. World J Surg Oncol 11:91. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7819-11-91\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eThe relatively favorable prognosis of medullary carcinoma of the breast - PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18144972/. Accessed 21 Oct 2022\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMartinez SR, Beal SH, Canter RJ, et al (2011) Medullary carcinoma of the breast: a population-based perspective. Med Oncol Northwood Lond Engl 28:738\u0026ndash;744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-010-9526-z\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eKleer CG (2009) Carcinoma of the breast with medullary-like features: diagnostic challenges and relationship with BRCA1 and EZH2 functions. 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Ann Oncol Off J Eur Soc Med Oncol 21:1825\u0026ndash;1833. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdq042\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePfeffer MR, Blumenfeld P (2017) The Changing Paradigm of Radiotherapy in the Elderly Population. Cancer J 23:8\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePark CH, Bonomi M, Cesaretti J, et al (2011) Effect of radiotherapy planning complexity on survival of elderly patients with unresected localized lung cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 81:706\u0026ndash;711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.06.060\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"european-journal-of-medical-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ejmr","sideBox":"Learn more about [European Journal of Medical Research](http://eurjmedres.biomedcentral.com)","snPcode":"40001","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/40001/3","title":"European Journal of Medical Research","twitterHandle":"@BioMedCentral","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"medullary carcinoma of the breast, radiotherapy, overall survival, risk stratification, nomogram","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6584933/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6584933/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedullary breast carcinoma (MBC), a rare histological subtype representing 3-5% of breast malignancies, presents unique therapeutic challenges due to its distinct clinicopathological characteristics and uncertain radiotherapy (RT) benefit profile. While current guidelines extrapolate treatment protocols from invasive ductal carcinoma, the prognostic heterogeneity among MBC patients and lack of validated biomarkers necessitate precision stratification tools to optimize RT decision-making.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on the data of patients from the SEER database between 2010 and 2018, we used univariate and multivariate Cox to develop a prognostic stratification model, and stratified the whole cohort into different risk groups to determine the optimal candidates to benefit from radiotherapy. The accuracy of the nomogram was evaluated by discrimination and calibration evaluation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA total of 677 patients were randomly divided into training set (n = 535) and verification set (n = 132) at 8:2. Then we identified five independent prognostic factors for MBC patients. Together, the 3 - and 5-year nomograms were made up of these 5 variables and patients were divided into two prognostic cohorts based on optimal cutoff value. The results showed that radiotherapy improved the prognosis of low-risk MBC patients compared to their non-radiotherapy-receiving counterparts (P = 0.017), while radiotherapy could not beneficial for patients with high-risk cohort (P = 0.47). The prognostic model predicts OS with excellent performance, the 3- and 5-year AUC of the training group were 0.777 and 0.775, the 3- and 5-year AUC of the validation set were 0.747 and 0.712, respectively. And the 3-year and 5-year calibration diagrams showed good consistency between the predicted results and the actual results.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe current study developed a prognostic stratification nomogram of patients with MBC and found that patients in the low-risk group were more likely to benefit from radiotherapy.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A Population-Based Analysis of a Risk Stratification System for Predicting Radiotherapy Benefits in Medullary Breast Carcinoma","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-10 05:44:54","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6584933/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-11-05T10:56:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-23T05:46:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"180587170332839588641944006782516036976","date":"2025-09-18T06:26:00+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"182717211019936464795375298965223665568","date":"2025-07-16T08:39:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-06-29T14:17:08+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"18803416505041756141471087373383563551","date":"2025-06-08T05:41:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"183691810969264481669483018806379517568","date":"2025-06-07T09:56:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"211602614727140800998419555757702803830","date":"2025-06-06T06:44:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-06-05T09:51:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-05-12T08:40:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-05-09T03:21:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"European Journal of Medical Research","date":"2025-05-03T15:30:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
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