Open AccessIpsilateral Lymphadenopathy After COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer
Author(s) -
Su Min Ha,
Jong-Ho Cheun,
Su Hyun Lee,
Soo-Yeon Kim,
Ah Reum Park,
Yeon Soo Kim,
Heera Yoen,
Youkyoung Lee,
Nariya Cho,
Woo Kyung Moon,
Jung Min Chang
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of breast cancer/journal of breast cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 2092-9900
pISSN - 1738-6756
DOI - 10.4048/jbc.2022.25.e10
Subject(s) - medicine , axillary lymphadenopathy , breast cancer , axillary lymph nodes , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging , lymph , cancer , pathology
This study aimed to evaluate the imaging and pathological findings in axillary lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer who received concurrent ipsilateral coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. Of the 19 women with breast cancer who received concurrent COVID-19 vaccination shot in the arm ipsilateral to breast cancer, axillary lymphadenopathy was observed in 84.2% (16 of 19) of patients on ultrasound (US) and 71.4% (10 of 14) of patients on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and 21.0% (4 of 19) of patients were diagnosed with metastasis. Abnormal US and MRI findings of cortical thickening, effacement of the fatty hilum, round shape, and asymmetry in the number or size relative to the contralateral side were noted in more than half of the non-metastatic and metastatic lymph nodes; however, statistical significance was not noted. Axillary lymphadenopathy is commonly observed in patients with breast cancer who receive concurrent ipsilateral COVID-19 vaccination without specific differential imaging features. Thus, understanding the limitations of axillary imaging and cautious interpretation is necessary to avoid overestimation or underestimation of the axillary disease burden.