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Histologic characteristics of breast cancers with occult lymph node metastases detected by keratin 19 mRNA reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction
Author(s) -
Noguchi Shinzaburo,
Aihara Tomohiko,
Motomura Kazuyoshi,
Inaji Hideo,
Imaoka Shingi,
Koyama Hiroki
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19960915)78:6<1235::aid-cncr10>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - medicine , lymph , occult , pathology , lymphatic system , lymph node , micrometastasis , breast cancer , axillary lymph nodes , lymphatic vessel , cancer , metastasis , alternative medicine
BACKGROUND Amplification of keratin 19 mRNA (K19) by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) has been shown to be a sensitive method to detect occult breast cancer metastases in lymph nodes. METHODS Axillary lymph nodes were obtained from 126 patients with breast cancer, and metastases in these lymph nodes were studied by both histologic examination and K19 RT‐PCR. The patients were categorized into 3 groups according to the results of these 2 examinations, i.e., patients with 1) both histologically and K19 RT‐PCR negative lymph nodes (metastases negative group [n = 91]); 2) histologically negative but K19 RT‐PCR positive lymph nodes (occult metastases positive group [n = 15]); and 3) histologically positive lymph nodes (metastases positive group [n = 20]). RESULTS Various histologic parameters such as tumor size, histologic type, histologic grade, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, and estrogen receptor status were compared among these three groups. There were no significant differences among any of these histologic parameters between the metastases positive and occult metastases positive groups. Conversely, tumor size of the metastases positive (2.5 ± 0.2 cm) and occult metastases positive (2.5 ± 0.2 cm) groups was significantly ( P < 0.05) greater than that of the metastases negative group (1.9 ± 0.1 cm), and positivity of lymphatic vessel invasion in the former 2 groups (70% and 53%, respectively) was also significantly ( P < 0.01) greater than that in the latter group (18%). CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that histologic characteristics of breast cancers with occult metastases are similar to those of breast cancers with histologically detectable metastases. Cancer 1996;78:1235‐40.