Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 2;8(33):55534-55543.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.15022. eCollection 2017 Aug 15.

Lymph node status in different molecular subtype of breast cancer: triple negative tumours are more likely lymph node negative

Ning Liu  1 , Zhigang Yang  2 , Xiaozhen Liu  3 , Yun Niu  3
Affiliations

Lymph node status in different molecular subtype of breast cancer: triple negative tumours are more likely lymph node negative

Ning Liu et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

Background and objectives: To investigate the association between different molecular subtype (MST) and the axillary lymph nodal (ALN) status.

Materials and methods: A total of 528 female patients with primary breast cancer were collected. Survival estimates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.

Results: Triple negative and Luminal A breast cancers were more frequently node-negative (N0) when compared to Luminal B and Her-2 positive cancers (77.4% and 73.4% vs. 45.3% and 40.0%, respectively; P < 0.0001). We observed a clearly significant difference among ALN status in patients with Her-2 positive (P = 0.001) and Luminal B (P < 0.0001) breast cancer. While no significant prognostic diffreence among different LN status was detected in the Triple negative (P = 0.070) and Luminal A subtype (P = 0.660). On the other hand, we detected no prognostic diffreence among different MST in N1 and N3 subgroups (P = 0.569 and P = 0.484, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that lymph node status (P < 0.01), molecular subtype (P < 0.01), and tumor size (P < 0.01) were significantly and independently prognostic factors. The c-index of the prognosis nomogram for recurrence prediction was 0.70.

Conclusion: Triple negative breast cancer is not associated more frequently with a higher number of involved nodes. The prognosis nomogram can predict the probability of recurrence patients within 3 or 5 years.

Keywords: breast cancer; lymph node status; molecular subtype; prognosis; triple negative subtype.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST There is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Number of positive lymph nodes by molecular subtype (P < 0.0001)
More N0 in Luminal A and Triple negative, more N2 in Her-2 positive and Luminal B.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Kaplan-Meier analysis for recurrence-free survival according to lymph node (LN) status were stratified into four groups (N0, N1, N2 and N3)
Survival analysis was performed in all 528 patients with follow-up and LNs information A., among Luminal tumors B., or in the subgroups of Luminal A tumors C., Luminal B tumors D., Her-2 positive E., and Triple negative subtype F.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Kaplan-Meier analysis for recurrence-free survival according to molecular subtype
Survival analysis was performed in all 528 patients A., LN negative(N0) tumors B., LN positive(N1-N3) tumors C., or in the subgroups of N1 tumors D., N2 tumors E., and N3 tumors F.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Postoperative nomogram with significant clinicopathologic characteristics predicted the probability of recurrence
To use the nomogram, the value attributed to an individual patient is located on each variable axis, and a line is drawn upward to determine the number of points received for each variable value. The sum of these numbers is located on the total points axis, and a line is then drawn downward to the survival axis to determine the 3-year and 5-year LRR likelihood.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yoshihara E, Smeets A, Laenen A, Reynders A, Soens J, Van Ongeval C, Moerman P, Paridaens R, Wildiers H, Neven P, Christiaens MR. Predictors of axillary lymph node metastases in early breast cancer and their applicability in clinical practice. Breast. 2013;22:357–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2012.09.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Viale G, Zurrida S, Maiorano E, Mazzarol G, Pruneri G, Paganelli G, Maisonneuve P, Veronesi U. Predicting the status of axillary sentinel lymph nodes in 4351 patients with invasive breast carcinoma treated in a single institution. Cancer. 2005;103:492–500. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.20809. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Crabb SJ, Cheang MC, Leung S, Immonen T, Nielsen TO, Huntsman DD, Bajdik CD, Chia SK. Basal breast cancer molecular subtype predicts for lower incidence of axillary lymph node metastases in primary breast cancer. Clin Breast Cancer. 2008;8:249–56. https://doi.org/10.3816/CBC.2008.n.028. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Perou CM, Sørlie T, Eisen MB, van de Rijn M, Jeffrey SS, Rees CA, Pollack JR, Ross DT, Johnsen H, Akslen LA, Fluge O, Pergamenschikov A, Williams C, et al. Molecular portraits of human breast tumours. Nature. 2000;406:747–52. https://doi.org/10.1038/35021093. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wiechmann L, Sampson M, Stempel M, Jacks LM, Patil SM, King T, Morrow M. Presenting features of breast cancer differ by molecular subtype. Ann Surg Oncol. 2009;16:2705–10. https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-009-0606-2. - DOI - PubMed