Magnetic resonance imaging for axillary staging in patients with breast cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the utility of MRI for assessing axillary lymph node status in patients with breast cancer.


METHODS
A consecutive series of patients who underwent breast MR before surgical management of breast cancer with axillary sampling between 2005 and 2007 were identified. MRs were evaluated for the number of nodes, contrast kinetics, nodal area, and number of nodes with no fatty hilum. Data were analyzed in the context of final breast pathology, sentinel lymph node status, and axillary nodal status. Correlations were analyzed using Kendall's tau-b test. Reported P values are one-sided.


RESULTS
Fifty-six females (median = 58 years) were studied. Sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) were positive in 15/56 patients (27%). All SLN + patients (n = 15) had completion axillary dissection. Extent of nodal disease was 1 (n = 3), 2 (n = 4), >2 (n = 8). Presence of any axillary lymph node with no fatty hilum and the number of nodes with no fatty hilum on MR significantly correlated with pathologic node positivity (P = 0.04); while kinetics, node number, and node size did not correlate.


CONCLUSIONS
Breast MR may be useful in the assessment of axillary nodes in patients with breast cancer.
Mortellaro
Vincent E
VE
Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA.
Marshall
Julia
J
Singer
Lauren
L
Hochwald
Steven N
SN
Chang
Myron
M
Copeland
Edward M
EM
Grobmyer
Stephen R
SR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
D003287:Contrast Media; C064925:gadodiamide; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA