The association between tumor-stromal collagen features and the clinical outcomes of patients with breast cancer: a systematic review

Table 4 Association of collagen features with invasiveness

Outcome	Collagen Feature	p-value	Reference
	Collagen Directionality	p < 0.0001	[22]
Negative Association with Invasiveness	Collagen Dispersion	p = 0.005	[22]
	F/B ratio in Ductal Carcinoma	p < 0.05	[54]
	Collagen Density	p < 0.0001	[55]
	Collagen Orientation	p < 0.001	[28]
No Association with Invasiveness	Collagen Fiber Quantity	NS	[53]
	Collagen Fiber Organization
	Collagen Fiber Uniformity
	Collagen Solidity		[22]
	F/B ratio in Lobular Carcinoma		[54]

Definitions: Intratumoral Collagen Uniformity (Higher values indicate fibers are more closely packed and evenly distributed). F/B: (Higher value indicates larger fibril diameter, increased order in interfibrillar packing, and decreased fiber segmentation). Collagen Dispersion (Higher values indicate a more random and less parallel arrangement of collagen fibers). Collagen Directionality (Higher values indicate a more perpendicular angle of collagen fibers relative to the boundary). Collagen Solidity (Higher values indicate greater collagen density)
NA Not Available, NS Not Significant, F/B Forward-to-Backward ratio

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