False negative results in axillary lymph nodes by ultrasonography and ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma

• Published in: Ultraschall in der Medizin Vol. 34; no. 6; p. 559
• Main Authors: Park, S H, Kim, E-K, Park, B-W, Kim, S I, Moon, H J, Kim, M J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.12.2013
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Axilla; Biopsy, Fine-Needle; Breast Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Breast Neoplasms - surgery; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - diagnostic imaging; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - pathology; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - surgery; False Negative Reactions; Female; Humans; Infant; Lymph Nodes - diagnostic imaging; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Lymphatic Metastasis - diagnostic imaging; Lymphatic Metastasis - pathology; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Invasiveness - pathology; Neoplasm Staging; Preoperative Care; Retrospective Studies; Ultrasonography, Interventional
• ISSN: 1438-8782
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1313113

For preoperative evaluation of ALN status using various methods, axillary US and subsequent US-FNA targeting the LNs suspicious for metastasis are the most widely used methods. The purpose of our study was to assess the rate of false-negative results at preoperative ultrasonography (US) and ultrasonography guided fine needle aspiration (US-FNA) of axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) in breast cancer patients and the number of false-negative lymph nodes, and to evaluate factors related to ALN false negative results in US and/or US-FNA in patients diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. Among 317 patients who underwent surgery for invasive ductal carcinoma during 2009 in Severance hospital, 237 patients had no reported ALN metastasis on preoperative US-FNA and US. We retrospectively reviewed the subsequent surgical pathology and clinicopathologic findings and assessed the rate of false-negative results from US and US-FNA of ALN and the number of false-negative lymph node. We performed univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate the relationships between variable clinicopathologic factors (T-stage, position of ALN, hormone receptors, histologic grade, lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and performance of FNA) and cytologic results (false-negative result; FNALN and true negative result; TNALN) from US and/or US-FNA of ALN. The rate of false-negative results was 42.4 % (59/139) in both US and US-FNA of ALN but among them, 57.6 % (34/59) showed only one metastatic ALN. Breast cancer with FNALN on US and US-FNA was significantly related to positive estrogen receptor (p = 0.003), positive progesterone receptor (p = 0.001), and the presence of LVI (p = 0.004) in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, high T stages (≥ T2, odds ratio (OR) 4.007, p = 0.004) and LVI (OR 7.951, p = 0.001) showed significant correlation with FNALN on US and US-FNA. More than half of patients with FNALN showed only one metastatic ALN. LVI and high T-stages were the most important factors attributed to FNALN on US and US-FNA in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma.