Analysis of risk factors for lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients after axillary lymph node metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy / 中国综合临床

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the risk factors for lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients with axillary lymph node metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Methods:The data of 94 female patients with invasive breast cancer in Dongguan People′s Hospital of Guangdong Province from January 2017 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.All patients planned to receive 4-8 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.After chemotherapy, modified radical mastectomy was performed.Estrogen receptor(ER), progesterone receptor(PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER-2) appeared for the first time in Chinese and English abstracts and texts positive patients received endocrine or targeted therapy.The rest patients received 2-4 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy according to the situation.Lymph node metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was analyzed.The relationship between lymph node metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and clinicopathological features was analyzed.Risk factors for lymph node metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were analyzed by Logistic regression.Results:After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the positive rate of axillary lymph node was 74.47%(70/94). The number of positive axillary lymph nodes, ER status, HER-2 status and cell proliferation-associated human nuclear antigen(Ki67), the completion of chemotherapy cycle, the pathological remission of axillary lymph nodes after chemotherapy and the T stage of tumor after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were associated with lymph node metastasis in patients with positive axillary lymph nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy(χ 2=30.053, 10.233, 6.303, 7.666, 18.162, 10.148, 12.418; all P<0.05). More than 3 positive axillary lymph nodes( OR=2.788, 95% CI 1.253-5.318), ER positive( OR=3.298, 95% CI 1.744-7.837), Ki67 positive( OR=2.469, 95% CI 1.184-4.301)and pathological pPR( OR=4.197, 95% CI 2.168-13.788) were independent risk factors for lymph node metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy(all P<0.05). Conclusion:Axillary lymph node-positive breast cancer patients have a high positive rate of axillary lymph nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.More than 3 positive axillary lymph nodes before operation, ER positive, Ki67 positive, and axillary lymph node pPR after neoadjuvant chemotherapy are independent risk factors for lymph node metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.