Correlation between Blood Flow Signal of Color Flow Imaging and Nottingham Prognostic Index in Patients with Breast Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between blood supply detected by Doppler ultrasound and the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) in breast cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 137 patients with breast carcinoma, who had undergone color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and surgery, were involved in this retrospective study. CDFI was divided into 4 levels: absent (grade 0), minimal (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), and marked (grade 3). NPI was calculated as: NPI = 0.2 × tumor size (cm) + grade (I-III) + lymph node score (1-3). All patients were followed until the final observation (July 2010), or until the time of death. The survival state of the patients was divided into 3 categories: healthy survival, metastasis, and death. RESULTS: Blood signal grades were positively correlated with NPI (Spearman r = 0.55926, p < 0.0001) and survival state (χ(2) = 9.0248, p < 0.01). Patients with abundant blood flow signal (grade 2-3) had a significantly shorter overall survival than did those with limited blood flow signal (grade 0-1) (χ(2) = 5.0384, p = 0.0248). CONCLUSION: Flow signal measured by Doppler ultrasound may be useful as a prognostic indicator for patients with breast carcinoma.