Clinical relevance of lymph node ratio in breast cancer patients with one to three positive lymph nodes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To test the hypotheses that breast cancer patients with one to three positive lymph nodes (pN1) consist of heterogeneous prognostic subsets and that the ratio of positive nodes to total nodes dissected (lymph node ratio, LNR) might discriminate patients with a higher risk as candidates for post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT).

Methods

Using information from 7741 node-positive patients, we first identified cutoff values of the LNR using the nonparametric bootstrap method. Focusing on 3477 patients with pN1 disease, we then evaluated the clinical relevance of the LNR categorised by the estimated cutoff values (categorised LNR, cLNR).

Results

Among 3477 patients with pN1 disease, 3059 and 418 patients were assigned into the low and intermediate cLNR groups

SUBMITTER: Kim SI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3778309 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature