Determinants of False-Negative Fine-Needle Aspirates of Axillary Lymph Nodes in Women with Breast Cancer: Lymph Node Size, Cortical Thickness and Hilar Fat Retention

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Eric Ewing ◽  
Lester J. Layfield ◽  
Christopher L. Joshi ◽  
Mark D. Travis
Keyword(s):  
Lymph Node ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
True Positive ◽  
False Negatives ◽  
Lymph Node Size ◽  
Node Size

Objective: Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (UG-FNA) is utilized to sample axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients. Diagnostic sensitivity is good but few data exist regarding the causes of false-negative results. Study Design: Fifty-four UG-FNAs of sentinel lymph nodes with histologic follow-up were identified. Gross and radiographic lymph node size, the percentage replaced by carcinoma and the cortical thickness were correlated with false-negative rates. Results: Thirty-seven aspirates were negative, 5 of these being false-negative (9%). True-positive lymph nodes averaged 1.3 cm in dimension while false-negatives averaged 0.92 cm. Percentage involvement by carcinoma for true-positive FNAs averaged 69% while false-negatives averaged 25%. Cortical thickness averaged 5.6 mm in true-positive FNAs but 2.9 mm in false-negatives. Conclusion: A relationship exists between lymph node size and the likelihood of a false-negative FNA. Lymph nodes <1.2 cm have a higher incidence of false-negative results. Lymph nodes with <30% involvement demonstrated a higher percentage of false-negatives than those with >30% replacement. Sentinel lymph nodes <1 cm appear to be relatively poor candidates for UG-FNA. Lymph nodes with a cortical thickness <3.5 mm are more often associated with a false-negative result than nodes with a thicker cortex.

scholarly journals Preoperative Axillary Ultrasound versus Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Early Breast Cancer

Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Rukanskienė ◽  
Vincentas Veikutis ◽  
Eglė Jonaitienė ◽  
Milda Basevičiūtė ◽  
Domantas Kunigiškis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Lymph Node ◽  
Sentinel Lymph Node ◽  
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
False Negative Results

Background and objectives: With improved diagnostic means of early breast cancer, the percentage of cases with metastasis in axillary lymph nodes has decreased from 50–75% to 15–30%. Lymphadenectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy are not treatment procedures, as they aim at axillary nodal staging in breast cancer. Being surgical interventions, they can lead to various complications. Therefore, recently much attention has been paid to the identification of non-invasive methods for axillary nodal staging. In many countries, ultrasound is a first-line method to evaluate axillary lymph node status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of ultrasound in detecting intact axillary lymph nodes and to assess the accuracy of ultrasound in detecting a heavy nodal disease burden. The additional objective was to evaluate patients’ and tumor characteristics leading to false-negative results. Materials and Methods: A total of 227 women with newly diagnosed pT1 breast cancer were included to this prospective study conducted at the Breast Surgery Unit, Clinic of Surgery, Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kauno Klinikos, between May 1, 2016, and May 31, 2018. All patients underwent preoperative axillary ultrasound examination. Ultrasound data were compared with the results of histological examination. The accuracy and true-negative rate of ultrasound were calculated. The reasons of false-negative results were analyzed. Results: Of the 189 patients who had normally appearing axillary lymph nodes on preoperative ultrasound (PAUS-negative), 173 (91.5%) patients were also confirmed to have intact axillary lymph nodes (node-negative) by histological examination after surgery. The accuracy and the negative predictive value of ultrasound examination were 84.1% and 91.5%, respectively. In ≥3 node-positive cases, the accuracy and the negative predictive value increased to 88.7% and 98.3%, respectively. In total, false-negative results were found in 8.5% of the cases (n = 16); in the PAUS-negative group, false-negative results were recorded only in 1.6% of the cases (n = 3). The results of PAUS and pathological examination differed significantly between patients without and with lymphovascular invasion (LV0 vs. LV1, p < 0.001) as well as those showing no human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression and patients with weakly or strongly expressed HER2 (HER2(0) vs. HER2(1), p = 0.024). Paired comparisons revealed that the true-negative rate was significantly different between the LV0 and LV1 groups (91% vs. 66.7%, p < 0.05), and the false-negative rate was statistically significant different between the HER2(0) and HER2(1) groups (10.5% vs. 1.2%, p < 0.05). Evaluation of other characteristics showed both the groups to be homogenous. Conclusions: Negative axillary ultrasound excluded axillary metastatic disease in 91.5% of the patients. PAUS had an accuracy of 88.7% in detecting a heavy nodal disease burden. With the absence of lymphovascular invasion (LV0), we can rely on PAUS examination that axillary lymph nodes are intact (PAUS-negative), and this patients’ group could avoid sentinel lymph node biopsy. Patients without HER2 expression are at a greater likelihood of false-negative results; therefore, the findings of ultrasound that axillary lymph nodes are intact (PAUS-negative results) should be interpreted with caution.

Study of Sentinel Lymph Node in Breast Cancer: Our Experience in 46 Cases

2000 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Galli ◽  
Lauretta Massaza ◽  
Luca Chiappo ◽  
Adriana Paduos ◽  
Giorgio Rosso
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Lymph Node ◽  
Sentinel Lymph Node ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Gamma Probe ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
Negative Results

At the Surgery Department of Biella 46 patients were enrolled in a study on the sentinel lymph node (SN) in the period from 1 January 1999 to 30 September 1999. The aim of the study was to determine, on the basis of our own experience, the percentages of accuracy and concordance, and compare them with case series abroad and in Italy; in addition, we sought to establish a possible correlation between certain features of breast cancer and positivity of the axilla. The method utilized was lymphoscintigraphy and gamma probe. Fifteen cases with positive axillary lymph nodes and 12 cases with positive sentinel lymph nodes were found; there were no false positive and three false negative results. No migration of the tracer was observed with lymphoscintigraphy in two cases. The percentage of concordance obtained was 93.2% in the complete series and 96.5% in the subseries that excluded the learning curve. Comparing the percentage of concordance of our case series with those abroad and in Italy, an average overlapping percentage was obtained. The percentage of accuracy obtained in our study was 95.7%, which is slightly higher than the average of percentages of the case series abroad and in Italy.

scholarly journals Characterization of Axillary Lymph Nodes as Normal, Reactive and Benign Using Conventional Ultrasonography

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzana Alam ◽  
Md. Menhazul Islam ◽  
Mahbuba Shirin ◽  
Sayeeda Shawkat ◽  
Salahuddin Al Azad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Lymph Node ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Area Under Curve ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
Short Axis ◽  
Axis Ratio ◽  
Metastatic Lymph

Background:Detection ofabnormalities ofaxillary lymph nodes is important for the diagnosis of different pathologies. Objective:The purpose of this present study was to see the accuracy of conventional USG for the differential diagnosis of axillary lymph nodes. Methodology: This cross sectional study was carried out in the Department of Radiology & Imaging at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhakafrom July 2012 to June 2013 for a period of one year. In this study normal healthy woman who came for screening of breast disease without any symptoms and did not have any abnormality on USG was included and werecategorized as normal patient. Axillary lymph nodes from the normal patients werecategorized as benign lymph nodes. Patients, who came with the complaints of mastalgia with normal breast findings, were included as patients with mastalgia. The lymph nodes from the patients of mastalgia were considered as reactive lymph nodes and patients with known breast cancer and lymph node metastasis were included as malignant patients. Metastatic lymph nodes from breast cancer patients was included diagnosed by cytopathology or histopathology as metastatic lymph nodes. Following patients’ second visit or final diagnosis the patients were included in the data set. Long axis diameter was taken as longest diameter in long axis. Result: In benign vs reactive lymph node the area under curve for long axis diameter was 0.534 (asymptotic significance 0.307), short axis diameter was 0.589 (asymptotic significance 0.007), sinus length 0.492 (asymptotic significance 0.798), cortical thickness was 0.684 (asymptotic significance 0.0001) short long ratio was 0.570 (asymptotic significance 0.033). In reactive vs metastatic the area under curve for long axis diameter was 0.464 (asymptotic significance 0.391), short axis diameter was 0.741 (asymptotic significance 0.000), sinus length 0.257 (asymptotic significance 0.037), cortical thickness was 0.625 (asymptotic significance 0.003) short long ratio was 0.791 (asymptotic significance 0.000), sinus long ratio 0.279 (asymptotic significance 0.040) cortex short axis ratio .516 (asymptotic significance 0.708).The cut off for short-long axis diameter ratio was 0.43, for short axis was 0.66cm and for cortical thickness 0.37cm. In benign vs metastasis lymph node the area under curve for long axis diameter was 0.533 (asymptotic significance 0.417), short axis diameter was 0.797 (asymptotic significance 0.000), sinus length 0.254 (asymptotic significance 0.000), cortical thickness was 0.757 (asymptotic significance 0.0001) short long ratio was 0.847 (asymptotic significance 0.0001), sinus long ratio 0.241 (asymptotic significance 0.0001) cortex short axis ratio .661 (asymptotic significance 0.0001). Conclusion: To differentiate benign, reactive and metastatic lymph node, cortical thickness and shape are the important parameters. Journal of Science Foundation 2015;13(2):36-45DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsf.v13i2.27933

scholarly journals False-negative frozen section of sentinel nodes in early breast cancer (cT1-2N0) patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhu-Jun Loh ◽  
Kuo-Ting Lee ◽  
Ya-Ping Chen ◽  
Yao-Lung Kuo ◽  
Wei-Pang Chung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Lymph Node ◽  
Early Breast Cancer ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Disease Free Survival ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
Frozen Sections ◽  
Sentinel Nodes ◽  
Tumor Emboli

Abstract Background Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard approach for the axillary region in early breast cancer patients with clinically negative nodes. The present study investigated patients with false-negative sentinel nodes in intraoperative frozen sections (FNSN) using real-world data. Methods A case–control study with a 1:3 ratio was conducted. FNSN was determined when sentinel nodes (SNs) were negative in frozen sections but positive for metastasis in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) sections. The control was defined as having no metastasis of SNs in both frozen and FFPE sections. Results A total of 20 FNSN cases and 60 matched controls from 333 SLNB patients were enrolled between April 1, 2005, and November 31, 2009. The demographics and intrinsic subtypes of breast cancer were similar between the FNSN and control groups. The FNSN patients had larger tumor sizes on preoperative mammography (P = 0.033) and more lymphatic tumor emboli on core biopsy (P < 0.001). Four FNSN patients had metastasis in nonrelevant SNs. Another 16 FNSN patients had benign lymphoid hyperplasia of SNs in frozen sections and metastasis in the same SNs from FFPE sections. Micrometastasis was detected in seven of 16 patients, and metastases in nonrelevant SNs were recognized in two patients. All FNSN patients underwent a second operation with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). After a median follow-up of 143 months, no FNSN patients developed breast cancer recurrence. The disease-free survival, breast cancer-specific survival, and overall survival in FNSN were not inferior to those in controls. Conclusions Patients with a larger tumor size and more lymphatic tumor emboli have a higher incidence of FNSN. However, the outcomes of FNSN patients after completing ALND were noninferior to those without SN metastasis. ALND provides a correct staging for patients with metastasis in nonsentinel axillary lymph nodes.

scholarly journals Dedicated Axillary MRI-Based Radiomics Analysis for the Prediction of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Sanaz Samiei ◽  
Renée W. Y. Granzier ◽  
Abdalla Ibrahim ◽  
Sergey Primakov ◽  
Marc B. I. Lobbes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Lymph Node ◽  
Lymph Node Metastasis ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph Node ◽  
Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
Mr Images ◽  
Node Metastasis

Radiomics features may contribute to increased diagnostic performance of MRI in the prediction of axillary lymph node metastasis. The objective of the study was to predict preoperative axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer using clinical models and radiomics models based on T2-weighted (T2W) dedicated axillary MRI features with node-by-node analysis. From August 2012 until October 2014, all women who had undergone dedicated axillary 3.0T T2W MRI, followed by axillary surgery, were retrospectively identified, and available clinical data were collected. All axillary lymph nodes were manually delineated on the T2W MR images, and quantitative radiomics features were extracted from the delineated regions. Data were partitioned patient-wise to train 100 models using different splits for the training and validation cohorts to account for multiple lymph nodes per patient and class imbalance. Features were selected in the training cohorts using recursive feature elimination with repeated 5-fold cross-validation, followed by the development of random forest models. The performance of the models was assessed using the area under the curve (AUC). A total of 75 women (median age, 61 years; interquartile range, 51–68 years) with 511 axillary lymph nodes were included. On final pathology, 36 (7%) of the lymph nodes had metastasis. A total of 105 original radiomics features were extracted from the T2W MR images. Each cohort split resulted in a different number of lymph nodes in the training cohorts and a different set of selected features. Performance of the 100 clinical and radiomics models showed a wide range of AUC values between 0.41–0.74 and 0.48–0.89 in the training cohorts, respectively, and between 0.30–0.98 and 0.37–0.99 in the validation cohorts, respectively. With these results, it was not possible to obtain a final prediction model. Clinical characteristics and dedicated axillary MRI-based radiomics with node-by-node analysis did not contribute to the prediction of axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer based on data where variations in acquisition and reconstruction parameters were not addressed.

scholarly journals The Findings of SPECT/CT Concerning Bypass Lymph Circulation in Lymphedema Following Breast Cancer Surgery

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 471
Author(s):  
Min Young Lee ◽  
Eunjung Kong ◽  
Dong Gyu Lee
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Lymph Node ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Lymphatic Drainage ◽  
Cancer Surgery ◽  
Breast Cancer Surgery ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
Node Dissection ◽  
Positive Group

This study aimed to determine whether bypass circulation was present in lymphedema and its effect. This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study. Patients who underwent unilateral breast cancer surgery with axillary lymph node dissection were recruited and underwent single-photon emission tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). SPECT/CT was performed to detect the three-dimensional locations of radio-activated lymph nodes. Patients with radioactivity in anatomical locations other than axillary lymph nodes were classified into a positive group. All patients received complete decongestive therapy (CDT). Exclusion criteria were as follows: History of bilateral breast cancer surgery, cervical lymph node dissection history, and upper extremity amputation. The difference in the upper extremity circumference (cm) was measured at four points: Mid-point of the upper arm, elbow, and 10 and 15 cm below the elbow. Twenty-nine patients were included in this study. Fifteen patients (51.7%) had bypass lymphatic systems on the affected side, six (20.7%) had a bypass lymphatic system with axillary lymph nodes on the unaffected side, and 11 (37.9%) showed new lymphatic drainage. The positive group showed significantly less swelling than the negative group at the mid-arm, elbow, and 15 cm below the elbow. Bypass lymphatic circulation had two patterns: Infraclavicular lymph nodes and supraclavicular and/or cervical lymph nodes. Changes in lymph drainage caused by surgery triggered the activation of the superficial lymphatic drainage system to relieve lymphedema. Superficial lymphatic drainage has a connection through the deltopectoral groove.

scholarly journals An AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF SLN MAPPING IN PATIENTS OF LOCALLY ADVANCED BREAST CANCER FOLLOWING NCT

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankur Garg ◽  
Udbhav Kathpalia ◽  
Shweta Bansal ◽  
Manoj Andley ◽  
Sudipta Saha
Keyword(s):  
Lymph Node ◽  
Sentinel Lymph Node ◽  
Adjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Locally Advanced ◽  
Lymph Node Biopsy ◽  
Axillary Lymph Nodes ◽  
Axillary Lymph ◽  
Node Biopsy ◽  
Neo Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Background : Locally advanced breast carcinoma (LABC) includes a wide range of clinical scenarios- advanced primary tumors (T4), advanced nodal disease and inflammatory carcinomas(1). Traditionally, treatment of LABC included a combination of Chemotherapy, Radiation and Surgery(2). However, there has been a shift to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in recent times.(3) Histological status and the number of axillary lymph nodes with metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors and most powerful predictor of recurrence and survival in patients of breast carcinoma and remains so, even after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. (3) Information derived from the sentinel lymph node is considered valuable, with less discomfort to the patient when compared with axillary dissection.(4) However, its role in detecting nodal metastasis after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in LABC is still debatable and definitive studies to evaluate its role are still evolving. (5) Materials and Methods: Patients of LABC were evaluated using ultrasonography (USG) of axilla. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) was administered and patients were reassessed by USG of axilla. Thirty patients with node negative axillary status were subjected to Sentinel lymph node mapping using isosulfan blue followed by Modified Radical Mastectomy and Axillary Lymph Node Dissection. Histopathological evaluation of stained and unstained lymph nodes done and the data, thus obtained, was statistically analysed.   Results: Sentinel lymph node biopsy performed using Isosulfan Blue dye alone, after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy predicts the status of axillary lymph nodes with low accuracy.   Conclusions: Further studies would be required to establish the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with LABC after NACT.

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