Progesterone Receptor Status and Ki-67 Index May Predict Early Relapse in Luminal B/HER2 Negative Breast Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study

PURPOSE: Few studies has documented early relapse in luminal B/HER2-negative breast cancer. We examined prognostic factors for early relapse among these patients to improve treatment decision-making. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total 398 patients with luminal B/HER2-negative breast cancer were included. Kaplan-Meier curves were applied to estimate disease-free survival and Cox regression to identify prognostic factors. RESULTS: Progesterone receptor (PR) negative expression was associated with higher tumor grade (p<.001) and higher Ki-67 index (p = .010). PR-negative patients received more chemotherapy than the PR-positive group (p = .009). After a median follow-up of 28 months, 17 patients (4.3%) had early relapses and 8 patients (2.0%) died of breast cancer. The 2-year disease-free survival was 97.7% in the PR-positive and 90.4% in the PR-negative groups (Log-rank p = .002). Also, patients with a high Ki-67 index (defined as >30%) had a reduced disease-free survival (DFS) when compared with low Ki-67 index group (≤30%) (98.0% vs 92.4%, respectively, Log-rank p = .013). In multivariate analysis, PR negativity was significantly associated with a reduced DFS (HR = 3.91, 95% CI 1.29–11.88, p = .016). CONCLUSION: In this study, PR negativity was a prognostic factor for early relapse in luminal B/HER2-negative breast cancer, while a high Ki-67 index suggested a higher risk of early relapse.