Abstract
BACKGROUND
The most important factor in predicting survival among women with newly diagnosed breast cancer is the status of the axillary lymph nodes. Although straightforward to define, the impact of micrometastases on survival remains to be completely determined.
METHODS
A review of data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute was performed using 43,921 cases diagnosed from January 1988 through December 2001. Among women with invasive breast carcinomas β€2 cm undergoing a resection of the primary malignancy and an axillary lymph node dissection, there were 42,197 cases without lymph node metastases and 1724 cases with micrometastases. Survival differences among these 2 groups were evaluated and are reported here.
RESULTS
Survival at 12 years was modestly affected by the presence of either solitary (5.0%) or multiple lymph nodes (3.6%) with micrometastases when compared with lymph nodeβnegative cases. In subgroup analyses, the decreased survival associated with micrometastases was inconsistent. The most significant survival disadvantage associated with micrometastases was found in cases with Grade 3 carcinomas.
CONCLUSIONS
The modest and variable impact of micrometastases on longβterm survival indicates that micrometastases are an important, but not a dominant, prognostic indicator. Cancer 2006. Β© 2006 American Cancer Society.