title: Maximum Density of Tumor Staining Obtained by Preoperative IV-DSA as a Prognostic Indicator for Node-Negative Breast Cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated that the density of tumor enhancement by intravenous digital subtraction angiography (IV-DSA) is correlated with the number of tumor microvessels and that the incidence of distant metastasis is highin patients with breast cancer who show a high maximum density of tumor enhancement (MAX) on IV-DSA. In the present study, we evaluated the prognostic value ofMAX for node-negative breast cancer patients. Patients and METHODS: A total of 128 node-negative breast cancer patients underwent preoperative IV-DSA, and the region of interest (ROI) was set in the areas enhanced by IV-DSA of the breast. MAX was calculated by the time-density curve. Patients were divided into two subgroups: those with MAX >/= 9 (n=35) and those with MAX < 9 (n=93). RESULTS: Patients with recurrence had a significantly higher MAX value than those without recurrence (11.8 +/- 3.8 vs 7.1 +/- 3.0, p<0.01). The disease-free survival rate was significantly worse in patients with higher MAX values than in those with lower MAX values (p <0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that MAX was the strongest predictor of disease-free survival (p =0.026). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the maximum density obtained by IV-DSA is a strong, independent prognostic indicator for node-negative breast cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tokoy Women's Medical University Daini Hospital, 2-1-10 Nishiogu, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo 116-8567, Japan.
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imamura
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagumo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Utada
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okabe
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kajiwara