Frequency and Predictors of Axillary Lymph Node Metastases in Iranian Women with Early Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND: Axillary lymph node metastasis is the most important predictive factor for recurrence risk and survival in patients with invasive breast carcinoma. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with metastatic involvement of axillary lymph nodes in Iranian women with early breast cancer. METHODS: This article reports a retrospective study of 774 patients with T1-T2 breast cancer who underwent resection of the primary tumor and axillary staging by SLNB and/or ALND between 2005 and 2015 at our institution. RESULTS: Of the 774 patients included in this study, 35.5% (275 cases) had axillary lymph node involvement at the time of diagnosis. Factors associated with nodal involvement in univariate analyses were tumor size, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), tumor grade, ER/PR status and HER2 expression. All factors identified with univariate analyses were entered into a multivariate logistic regression model and tumor size (OR= 3.01, CI 2.01–4.49, P <0.001), ER/PR positivity (OR = 1.74, CI 1.1.16–2.62, P = 0.007) and presence of LVI (OR = 3.3.8, CI 2.31–4.95, P <0.001) remained as independent predictors of axillary lymph node involvement. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the results of this study suggests that positive hormonal receptor status, LVI and tumor size are predictive factors for ALNM in Iranian women with early breast cancer.