Table 1 Prognostic elements of breast cancer survivability (SEER).
From: A coupling approach of a predictor and a descriptor for breast cancer prognosis
Prognostic elements | Description | Number of distinct values / mean ± std.dev | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Discrete Variables | 1 | Race | Ethnicity: White, Black, Chinese, etc. | 16 |
| Â | 2 | Radiation | None, Beam Radiation, Radioisotopes, Refused, Recommended, etc. | 6 |
| Â | 3 | Primary Site | Presence of tumor at particular location in body. Topographical classification of cancer. | 9 |
| Â | 4 | Histological Type | Form and structure of tumor | 30 |
| Â | 5 | Behavior Code | Normal or aggressive tumor behavior is defined using codes. | 2 |
| Â | 6 | Grade | Appearance of tumor and its similarity to more or less aggressive tumors | 5 |
| Â | 7 | Site Specific Surgery | Information on surgery during first course of therapy, whether cancer-directed or not. | 12 |
| Â | 8 | Stage | Defined by size of cancer tumor and its spread | 10 |
| Â | 9 | Clinical Extension of tumor | Defines the spread of the tumor relative to the breast | 16 |
| Â | 10 | Lymph Node Involvement | None, (1-3) Minimal, (4-9) Significant, etc. | 7 |
| Â | 11 | Marital Status | Married, Single, Divorced, Widowed, Separated | 4 |
Continuous Variables | 12 | Age at Diagnosis | Actual age of patient in years | 63.64 ± 14.25 |
|  | 13 | Tumor Size | 2-5 cm; at 5 cm, the prognosis worsens | 116.78 ± 286.64 |
|  | 14 | Number of Positive Nodes Examined | When lymph nodes are involved in cancer, they are known as positive. | 27.29 ± 42.26 |
|  | 15 | Number of Nodes Examined | The total number of (positive/negative) lymph nodes that were removed and examined by the pathologist. | 13.61 ± 17.49 |
|  | 16 | Number of Primaries | Number of primary tumors (1-6) | 0.54 ± 1.29 |
Survivability | Target binary variable defines class of survival of patient. | |||