Fig. 1

Adipose–tumor interaction and the histologic grades of tumor cells. a Representative gross photograph showing the tumor area in contact with surrounding adipose tissue (white arrows) and gland tissue (black arrows). b Design and exclusion criteria. c Association between various clinico-pathologic factors and the degree of tumor–adipose contact. *P < 0.05. ER, estrogen receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor 2; HG, histologic grade; PR, progesterone receptor. d In 107 patients whose tumor showed moderate tumor–adipose interaction, the degrees of mitotic index, nuclear pleomorphism, and tubule formation were measured in adipose-side tumors and gland-side tumors. e The gland-side tumor cells showed significantly higher mitotic index especially in ER-negative tumors, suggested by the changes in mitotic index within same tumors. P values derived from the comparison using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. f Representative case of a tumor with significant changes in mitotic index according to the tumor cells’ location with regard to surrounding adipose tissues