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Prognostic significance of the number of lymph nodes examined in patients with lymph node‐negative breast carcinoma
Author(s) -
Moorman Patricia G.,
Hamza Ali,
Marks Jeffrey R.,
Olson John A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(20010615)91:12<2258::aid-cncr1256>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - lymph , medicine , lymph node , breast carcinoma , hazard ratio , carcinoma , breast cancer , oncology , population , confidence interval , pathology , cancer , environmental health
BACKGROUND A recent report suggested that the number of lymph nodes examined was a strong predictor of survival in patients with lymph node‐negative breast carcinoma. Among women who had ≥ 20 lymph nodes examined, the risk of dying from breast carcinoma within 5 years was increased nearly 4‐fold compared with women who had fewer lymph nodes examined. Because these findings were based on a relatively small cohort of patients, corroborative studies with larger patient populations were needed. METHODS The authors studied the relation between the number of lymph nodes examined and breast carcinoma survival among 911 women with lymph node‐negative breast carcinoma with a median length of follow‐up of 84 months. The association between other prognostic indicators and survival and the number of lymph nodes examined also was investigated. RESULTS The number of lymph nodes examined was not found to be associated with either 5‐year or long‐term survival. The proportion of women dying from breast carcinoma was the same (8%) in both groups (those patients with ≥ 20 lymph nodes examined vs. those in whom < 20 lymph nodes were examined) and the hazard ratio was 0.98 (95% confidence interval, 0.58–1.64). CONCLUSIONS In this larger study population, the authors failed to confirm the findings of an earlier investigation in which having a larger number of lymph nodes examined was associated with poorer survival. This finding suggests that it is unlikely the number of lymph nodes examined is an important prognostic indicator in patients with lymph node‐negative breast carcinoma. Cancer 2001;91:2258–62. © 2001 American Cancer Society.