Potential prognostic value of clinical characteristics, hormone status and major depressive disorder in breast cancer

Aim: To identify independent factors predicting overall survival (OS) of breast cancer (BC) patients. Patients & methods: Two hundred and eighty one women with BC were recruited and clinical characteristics including lymphovascular invasion, clinical stage of Tumor Node Metastasis and positive axillary lymph nodes were documented; immunohistochemistry/fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to examine the expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2 and Ki-67; major depressive disorder was assessed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V. Results: Multivariable analyses indicated that in BC patients, lymphovascular invasion, Tumor Node Metastasis, pN, Ki-67 and major depressive disorder were significantly negatively correlated with OS; estrogen receptor was significantly positively associated with OS. Conclusion: Early diagnostic approaches and effective psychologic intervention are indispensable for BC patients.