Lymph node ratio and breast cancer prognosis: a meta-analysis

Does T1c-2N0-1M0 triple negative breast cancer derive a benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy?

OBJECTIVES

Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) is a standard approach for operable triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), the potential risks brought by it should also be noticed. Is the expanding indication of NCT to T1cN0M0 population appropriate? We conducted an investigation to compare the long-term survival of small tumor TNBC between NCT and adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT).

METHODS

For this propensity-matched analysis, we used data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We enrolled 1183 cases with NCT and 2550 cases with ACT who are AJCC clinical T1c-T2 N0-N1, diagnosed with invasive triple-negative breast cancer, from 2016 to 2017. The propensity score matching was utilized to minimize baseline characteristics bias. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by the Cox proportional hazard regression model.

RESULTS

Compared with patients receiving ACT, patients with NCT in this study presented a higher proportion of younger age, T2 stage, N1 stage, and underwent more mastectomy. Multivariate analysis in matched patients showed that NCT had no significant survival benefit compared with ACT in T1c-2N0-1M0 TNBC patients. Stratified analyses by T stage and N stage demonstrated NCT mainly presented a survival advantage in patients with N1 stage. Further investigation found that NCT didn't improve BCSS (HR, 0.472; 95% CI 0.135-1.647; P = 0.239) and OS (HR, 0.392; 95% CI 0.147-1.047; P = 0.062) for patients with T1cN0M0 TNBC; however, it was associated with improved OS (HR, 1.951; 95% CI 1.003-3.797; P = 0.049) only for patients with T2N1M0 TNBC.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we did not find any profit brought by NCT in the stage I and stage IIa cohorts, but even more unfavorable outcomes appeared in the T1cN0M0 cohort. Therefore, whether the candidates of NCT should be extended to T1cN0M0 still need to be cautious.

Naples Prognostic Score: A Novel Predictor of Survival in Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Purpose

This study investigated the correlation between the Naples prognostic score (NPS), clinicopathological traits, and the postoperative prognoses of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Based on NPS, a predictive nomogram was developed to estimate the long-term survival probabilities of patients with TNBC post-surgery.

Patients and Methods

We retrospectively examined the clinical records of 223 women with TNBC treated at Ningbo Medical Center, Lihuili Hospital between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2020. Blood tests and biochemical analyses were conducted before surgery. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), controlling nutritional status (CONUT), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and NPS were determined based on blood-related markers. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis assessed the association between NPS, PNI, CONUT score, overall survival (OS), and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS). Predictive accuracy was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and C index. The patients were randomly divided into the training and the validation group (6:4 ratio). A nomogram prediction model was developed and evaluated using the R Software for Statistical Computing (RMS) package.

Results

NPS outperformed other scores in predicting inflammation outcomes. Patients with an elevated NPS had a poorer prognosis (P<0.001). Lymph node ratio (LNR), surgical method, postoperative chemotherapy, and NPS independently predicted OS, whereas M stage, LNR, and NPS independently predicted BCSS outcome. The OS and BCSS predicted by the nomogram model aligned well with the actual OS and BCSS. The decision curve analysis showed significant clinical utility for the nomogram model.

Conclusion

In this study, NPS was an important prognostic indicator for patients with TNBC. The nomogram prognostic model based on NPS outperformed other prognostic scores for predicting patient prognosis. The model demonstrated a clear stratification ability for patient prognosis, which emphasized the potential benefits of early intervention for high-risk patients.

The prognostic value of lymph node ratio for thyroid cancer: a meta-analysis

Background

The prognostic value of lymph node ratio (LNR) has been proved in several cancers. However, the potential of LNR to be a prognostic factor for thyroid cancer has not been validated so far. This article evaluated the prognostic value of LNR for thyroid cancer through a meta-analysis.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted for eligible publications that study the prognostic values of LNR for thyroid cancer in the databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science up until October 24, 2023. The quality of the eligible studies was evaluated by The Newcastle-Ottawa Assessment Scale of Cohort Study. The effect measure for meta-analysis was Hazard Ratio (HR). Random effect model was used to calculate the pooled HR and 95% confidence intervals. A sensitivity analysis was applied to assess the stability of the results. Subgroup analysis and a meta-regression were performed to explore the source of heterogeneity. And a funnel plot, Begg's and Egger's tests were used to evaluate publication bias.

Results

A total of 15,698 patients with thyroid cancer from 24 eligible studies whose quality were relatively high were included. The pooled HR was 4.74 (95% CI:3.67-6.11; P<0.05) and a moderate heterogeneity was shown (I2 = 40.8%). The results of meta-analysis were stable according to the sensitivity analysis. Similar outcome were shown in subgroup analysis that higher LNR was associated with poorer disease-free survival (DFS). Results from meta-regression indicated that a combination of 5 factors including country, treatment, type of thyroid cancer, year and whether studies control factors in design or analysis were the origin of heterogeneity.

Conclusion

Higher LNR was correlated to poorer disease free survival in thyroid cancer. LNR could be a potential prognostic indicator for thyroid cancer. More effort should be made to assess the potential of LNR to be included in the risk stratification systems for thyroid cancer.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=477135, identifier CRD42023477135.

Prognostic Significance of Lymph Node Ratio in Predicting the Outcome of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma - A Retrospective Study

Introduction

The lymph node status is a very important prognostic factor in head-and-neck cancer. The presence of metastatic lymph nodes will reduce the overall survival by 50%. Lymph node ratio (LNR) is defined as the ratio of the number of positive lymph nodes to the total number of lymph nodes dissected. The aim of the study was to investigate the prognostic value of LNR in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Materials and Methods

Medical records of pathologically confirmed OSCC patients who reported with loco-regional recurrence from January 2017 to January 2022 were analysed. LNR and disease-free survival (DFS) were calculated for each patient. The endpoint of the study was disease-free survival. Spearman's correlation was used to establish a correlation between DFS and LNR.

Results

A total of 33 patients were included in the study. DFS was calculated for all the patients. LNR was calculated in patients with pathological N+ neck. There was a negative significant moderate correlation between LNR and DFS (Spearman's rho = -0.593, P < 0.001). A higher LNR value of more than 0.01 was associated with a shorter DFS period. T4 tumour stage had significantly higher LNR. A positive significant moderate correlation was found between LNR and tumour stage (Spearman's rho = 0.703, P = 0.01). As the T stage increased, the LNR ratio also increased. In the present study, tumour subsite tongue was associated with significantly higher LNR (P = 0.001).

Discussion

LNR can be considered an independent prognostic parameter for DFS in OSCC patients with cervical lymph node metastasis.

Prognostic value of axillary lymph node metastases in invasive lobular breast carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Axillary lymph node involvement is a well-established prognostic factor for recurrence in breast cancer, specifically the number of nodes affected and the ratio of the number of affected nodes to the number of harvested nodes for non-specific invasive breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma). However, there is limited information on the impact of lymph node involvement in the case of invasive lobular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES

our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of lymph node involvement on overall survival and distant metastatic-free survival according to the number of nodes affected and the ratio of positive nodes (LNR) for patients managed for invasive lobular carcinoma.

METHODS

This is a monocentre, comparative, observational study of patients managed for invasive lobular carcinoma at the Gynaecology Department of the University Hospital Center of Tours between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2018. The LNR cut-off values used were: low risk if LNR ≤ 0.2; intermediate risk if LNR > 0.2 and ≤ 0.65, and high risk for LNR >0.659.

RESULTS

Our study demonstrated a significant difference in overall survival and distant metastasis free survival (p < 0.0001). The 5-years Overall survival was 94 % for N0 patients, 92.4 % for low-risk patients, 85.6 % for intermediate-risk patients and 58.5 % for high-risk patients. The 5-year distant metastasis-free survival was 98.2 % for N0 patients, 95.9 % for low-risk patients, 80.1 % for intermediate-risk patients, and 60.3 % for high-risk patients. Multivariate analysis identified age, invasive lobular histologic type, presence of clinical inflammation, and intermediate and high risk classes of LNR ratio as independent factors affecting overall survival. For metastatic-free survival, the presence of clinical inflammation, the presence of LVSI and the low, intermediate, or high-risk classes of LNR ratio were identified as independent factors. However, age and invasive lobular histologic type did not appear to be independent factors affecting metastatic-free survival.

CONCLUSION

Our study highlights the significant prognostic impact of lymph node involvement in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma. The LNR ratio can be used as a reliable predictor of overall survival and metastatic-free survival in these patients.

Prognostic Factors and a Model for Occult Breast Cancer: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Occult breast cancer (OBC) is a special type of breast cancer of an unknown primary origin. Early stage OBC is treated as stage II−III breast cancer. Currently, there are no models for predicting the survival outcomes. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the role of the positive lymph node ratio (PLNR) in OBC and further establish and validate a prognostic nomogram. Patients with stage T0N+M0 breast cancer were enrolled from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to evaluate the effects of prognostic factors on breast-cancer-specific survival (BCSS), and a nomogram was established and validated for OBC. Overall, 843 patients were included, and the 5-year BCSS rate was 92.4%. Patients with a PLNR < 0.54 had better BCSS rates than those with a PLNR ≥ 0.54. The nomogram combined clinicopathological parameters, including the PLNR, pN stage, and estrogen receptor status, and showed a higher accuracy than the TNM staging system in predicting the BCSS. The patients could be stratified into different risk groups based on their prognostic scores. Patients in the low-risk subgroup showed an improved BCSS compared those in the high-risk subgroup. In conclusion, the PLNR is an independent prognostic factor for OBC. The PLNR-based nomogram has a better predictive ability than the TNM staging system and could be of great value for the treatment of OBC and prediction of its prognosis.

The prognostic role of lymph node ratio in breast cancer patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy: A dose-response meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

As neoadjuvant chemotherapy is widely used in breast cancer patients, the lymph node ratio has not been fully validated as a prognostic indicator of breast cancer received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This study was conducted to investigate the prognostic value of lymph node ratio in breast cancer patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

METHODS

Systematic searches were performed in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases until 15 December 2021 for studies on the association between lymph node ratio and the prognosis of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Overall survival and disease-free survival were used as outcome events, and hazard ratio was chosen as the parameter to evaluate the correlation. The dose-response relationship was assessed by restricted cubic splines. In the subgroup analyses, which were used to explore potential heterogeneity among the included studies according to study region and sample size. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the stability of individual studies, and publication bias was determined with funnel plots, Begg's test, and Egger&apos;s test. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata 15.1.

RESULTS

A total of 12 studies with 4,864 patients were included in this meta-analysis. In this study, high lymph node ratio was significantly associated with decreased overall survival (HR: 4.74; 95%CI: 3.36-6.67; P < 0.001) and disease-free survival (HR: 4.77; 95%CI: 3.69-6.17; P < 0.001). Moreover, the dose-response meta-analysis showed a linear association between higher lymph node ratio and shorter overall survival and disease-free survival in breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The meta-analysis suggested that high lymph node ratio was significantly associated with short overall survival and disease-free survival in breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Therefore, lymph node ratio is an independent predictive factor for the prognosis of breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which may better refine the cancer staging system.

Prognostic Nomogram for Postoperative Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma to Assist Decision Making for Adjuvant Chemotherapy

We aimed to investigate the effect of lymph node parameters on postoperative hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) and to establish a nomogram to predict its prognosis and assist in adjuvant chemotherapy decisions. A retrospective analysis of postoperative HSCC in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2004-2019) was performed. Cutoff points for continuous variables were determined by X-tile software. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors on overall survival (OS), and these variables were used to construct a nomogram. The nomogram's accuracy was internally validated using concordance index, area under the curve, calibration plot, and decision curve analyses. Furthermore, the value of chemotherapy in each risk subgroup was assessed separately based on individualized scores from the nomogram. In total, 404 patients were eligible for analysis, and the median OS was 39 months. Age, origin, primary site, T stage, number of lymph nodes examined, lymph node ratio, and radiotherapy were identified as prognostic factors for OS and incorporated into the nomogram. In both the training and validation cohorts, favorable performance was exhibited compared with the other stage systems, and patients could be classified into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk subgroups. Chemotherapy significantly improved the OS in the high-risk subgroup, whereas chemotherapy did not confer a survival benefit in the low- or intermediate-risk groups. The lymph node parameter-based nomogram model can better stratify the prognosis of HSCC patients and screen out patients who would benefit from chemotherapy, suggesting that the model could be used as a reference for clinical decision making and to avoid overtreatment.

Lymph Node Ratio as a Prognostic Factor in Neck Dissection in Oral Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Simple Summary

Lymph node ratio (LNR) is a well-studied prognostic factor in colorectal and breast cancer, and it has been recently evaluated as a clinically relevant biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma. LNR represents the ratio of positive lymph nodes extracted in a neck dissection to the total number of nodes harvested (lymph node yield, LNY). Many single-center cohort studies and a few multicenter have assessed the significance of LNR as a prognostic factor in oral cancer. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 studies and 20,994 oral cancer patients, we demonstrate that LNR is an independent prognostic indicator in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

Many studies have evaluated the clinical implications of lymph node ratio (LNR) as a prognostic factor in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The main purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to address LNR as a prognosticator in patients with OSCC. A systematic search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, Cochrane library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, and studies between 2009 and 2020 were sought. The pooled relative risk was calculated along with 95% confidence intervals for the following endpoints: overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), locoregional disease-free survival (LRDFS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) according to the random-effects model (Der Simonian–Laird approach). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed as well. Finally, 32 cohort studies were eligible, which included 20,994 patients with OSCC. Patients were subdivided into two categories, group YES (studies that included in their analysis only patients with positive lymph nodes) and group NO (studies that did not exclude LNR = 0 patients). In the group YES, patients with high LNR had shorter OS (RR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.47–1.91), DFS (RR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.42–1.99), DSS (RR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.56–2.42), DMFS (RR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.13–2.96), LRDFS (RR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.10–2.20), and LRFS (RR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.41–2.13) compared to patients with low LNR. In the group NO, patients with high LNR in comparison had shorter OS (RR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.99–2.85), DFS (RR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.48–2.81), and DSS (RR = 2.90, 95% CI: 2.35–3.57) compared to patients with low LNR. Based on those findings, LNR might be an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with OSCC and could be incorporated into future classification systems for better risk stratification.

[Autologous Breast Reconstruction in Conjuction with Lymphatic Microsurgery in Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema]

Breast cancer-related lymphedema of the upper extremity is the most significant non-oncological complication of tumour therapy, leading to functional impairment and impacting patients' quality of life. Autologous breast reconstruction per se effectively reduces incidence and stage of lymphedema after breast cancer treatment by surgical angiogenesis. In addition, modern surgical techniques for treating lymphedema are effective in reducing limb volume, circumference and functional impairment, and improving patients' quality of life, body image, integrity and local immunocompetence. Reconstructive surgery, including lymphovenous anastomoses (LVA) and vascularised lymph node transfer (VLNT), have been shown to rearrange or restore lymphatic flow and prevent stage progression. For patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema after mastectomy, autologous breast reconstruction in conjunction with lymphatic microsurgery using VLNT, LVA or a combination of these procedures offers the option of holistic and single-stage restoration in modern senology. Extensive scar release in the axilla is a crucial component of the surgical technique, aiming to prepare the recipient bed for the VLN transplant and to allow for the functional recruitment of remaining lymph vessels of the upper extremity. This article presents the indications, preoperative diagnostic evaluation, surgical techniques and precautions, complications and results of combined lymphatic and breast restoration.

Lymph node ratio-based nomogram for prognosis evaluation and treatment optimization of non-metastatic oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma

•

LNR is an independent prognostic factor over N stage in OCSCC.

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LNR-based nomogram surpasses AJCC TNM staging in predicting outcome of OCSCC.

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LNR-based nomogram is valid in guiding post-operative radiotherapy in OCSCC.

Background

Lymph node ratio (LNR) has been increasingly reported as a prognostic factor in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC). This study aimed to develop and validate a prognostic nomogram integrating LNR and to further assess its role in guiding adjuvant therapy for OCSCC.

Methods

A total of 8703 OCSCC patients treated primarily with surgery in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database were retrieved and randomly divided into training and validation cohorts. The nomogram was created based on the factors identified by Cox model. The value of PORT and chemotherapy was respectively evaluated in each prognostic group according to nomogram-deduced individualized score.

Results

The final nomogram included tumor site, grade, T stage, number of positive lymph nodes and LNR. Calibration plots demonstrated a good match between predicted and observed rates of overall survival (OS). The concordance indexes for training and validation cohorts were 0.720 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.708, 0.732) and 0.711 (95% CI: 0.687, 0.735), both significantly higher than did TNM stage (p< 0.001). According to individualized nomogram score, patients were stratified into three subgroups with significantly distinct outcome. PORT presented survival benefit among medium- and high-risk groups whereas a near-detrimental effect in low-risk group. Chemotherapy was found to be beneficial only in high-risk group.

Conclusion

This LNR-incorporated nomogram surpassed the conventional TNM stage in predicting prognosis of patients with non-metastatic OCSCC and identified sub-settings that could gain survival benefit from adjuvant thearpy.

Prognostic significance of lymph node ratio in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth

The lymph node ratio (LNR) has been proposed as an independent prognostic factor for survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, little attention has been paid to its role in the specific subsite of the floor of the mouth (FOM). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the LNR in patients with FOM SCC. A retrospective analysis of 92 patients with FOM SCC who were treated with primary curative resection and neck dissection was conducted. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were used to evaluate the prognostic significance of the LNR. Both of these parameters were significantly worse (P < 0.001) in patients with neck metastases. The mean LNR was 0.145 in patients with positive lymph nodes. A LNR <0.145 was predictive of longer DFS, while the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that a LNR ≥0.175 indicated a significantly lower OS. This study confirms that metastatic cervical lymph nodes correlate with an adverse prognosis in patients with FOM SCC, and specifically, a LNR ≥0.145 is predictive. Therefore, the LNR in patients with FOM SCC may be a predictor of survival in these patients.

Breast cancer preoperative 18FDG-PET, overall survival prognostic separation compared with the lymph node ratio

PURPOSE

To evaluate the overall survival prognostic value of preoperative 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) in breast cancer, as compared with the lymph node ratio (LNR).

METHODS

Data were abstracted at a median follow-up 14.7 years from a retrospective cohort of 104 patients who underwent PET imaging before curative surgery. PET-Axillary|Sternal was classified as PET-positive if hypermetabolism was visualized in ipsilateral nodal axillary and/or sternal region, else as PET-negative. The differences of 15 years restricted mean survival time ∆RMST according to PET and LNR were computed from Kaplan-Meier overall survival. The effect of PET and other patients' characteristics was analyzed through rankit normalization, which provides with Cox regression the Royston-Sauerbrei D measure of separation to compare the characteristics (0 indicating no prognostic value). Multivariate analysis of the normalized characteristics used stepwise selection with the Akaike information criterion.

RESULTS

In Kaplan-Meier analysis, LNR > 0.20 versus ≤ 0.20 showed ∆RMST = 3.4 years, P = 0.003. PET-Axillary|Sternal positivity versus PET-negative showed a ∆RMST = 2.6 years, P = 0.008. In Cox univariate analyses, LNR appeared as topmost prognostic separator, D = 1.50, P < 0.001. PET ranked below but was also highly significant, D = 1.02, P = 0.009. In multivariate analyses, LNR and PET-Axillary|Sternal were colinear and mutually exclusive. PET-Axillary|Sternal improved as prognosticator in a model excluding lymph nodes, yielding a normalized hazard ratio of 2.44, P = 0.062.

CONCLUSION

Pathological lymph node assessment remains the gold standard of prognosis. However, PET appears as a valuable surrogate in univariate analysis at 15-year follow-up. There was a trend towards significance in multivariate analysis that warrants further investigation.

Lymph Node Yield and Ratio in Selective and Modified Radical Neck Dissection in Head and Neck Cancer-Impact on Oncological Outcome

Background: Lymph node metastases are associated with poor prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Neck dissection (ND) is often performed prior to or after (chemo)radiation (CRT) and is an integral part of HNSCC treatment strategies. The impact of CRT delivered prior to ND on lymph node yield (LNY) and lymph node ratio (LNR) has not been comprehensively investigated. Material and methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted from January 2014 to 30 June 2019 at the University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland. We included 252 patients with primary HNSCC who underwent NDs either before or after CRT. LNY and LNR were compared in patients undergoing ND prior to or after CRT. A total of 137 and 115 patients underwent modified radical ND (levels I to V) and selective ND, respectively. The impact of several features on survival and disease control was assessed. Results: Of the included patients, 170 were male and 82 were females. There were 141 primaries from the oral cavity, 55 from the oropharynx, and 28 from the larynx. ND specimens showed a pN0 stage in 105 patients and pN+ in 147. LNY, but LNR was not significantly higher in patients undergoing upfront ND than in those after CRT (median: 38 vs. 22, p < 0.0001). Cox hazard ratio regression showed that an LNR ≥ 6.5% correlated with poor overall (HR 2.42, CI 1.12-4.89, p = 0.014) and disease-free survival (HR 3.416, CI 1.54-754, p = 0.003) in MRND. Conclusion: ND after CRT leads to significantly reduced LNY. An LNR ≥6.5% is an independent risk factor for decreased overall, disease-free, and distant metastasis-free survival for MRND.

Evaluation of Breast Edema Findings at T2-weighted Breast MRI Is Useful for Diagnosing Occult Inflammatory Breast Cancer and Can Predict Prognosis after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Background Prediction of occult inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and breast cancer prognosis based on breast edema findings on T2-weighted MRI scans, even for patients without clinical signs of IBC, would be useful in both pretreatment planning and prognosis and may elucidate the underlying biologic mechanisms. Purpose To evaluate whether classification of breast edema on T2-weighted MRI scans is useful for predicting the prognosis of patients with breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Materials and Methods A retrospective evaluation was performed of women with breast cancer who underwent breast MRI and were treated with NAC between January 2011 and December 2018. Breast edema on T2-weighted images was scored on a scale of 1 to 4, as follows: (a) breast edema score (BES) 1, no edema; (b) BES 2, peritumoral edema; (c) BES 3, prepectoral edema; and (d) BES 4, subcutaneous edema (suspicious for occult IBC). Clinically evident IBC was classified as BES 5 (without MRI). The log-rank test was performed, and hazard ratios were calculated using the Cox hazard model to evaluate associations between BES and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). PFS rate at 100 months after initiation of therapy was also evaluated. Results Of 408 patients (median age, 53 years; range, 28-80 years), 65 (16%) had a recurrence and 27 (7%) died. The log-rank test revealed differences in PFS for BES 4 versus 1, BES 5 versus 1, BES 5 versus 2, and BES 5 versus 3 (adjusted P < .05 for all). PFS rates for BES 1-5 were 0.92, 0.85, 0.80, 0.62, and 0.58, respectively, and the corresponding OS rates at 100 months were 0.98, 0.91, 0.92, 0.77, 0.86, respectively. Conclusion Classification of breast edema findings on T2-weighted MRI scans using a breast edema score was related to the prognosis of patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. © RSNA, 2021 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Role of Metastatic Lymph Nodes to Totally Removed Lymph Nodes Ratio in Breast Cancer?

Aim

To determine prognostic ratio of metastatic lymph nodes to totally removed lymph nodes (MLN/TRLN) on overall and progression-free survival with diagnosis of breast cancer.

Material and method

Radiation Oncology department of Kayseri Training and Research Hospital, relationship of MLN/TRLN between prognosis and other prognostic factors was evaluated in T1-3 and N1-3 non-metastatic breast cancer patients.

Results

Two hundred female patients and 5 male patients with an average age of 56 years were enrolled in this study. Of all patients, 63.4% of the patients were postmenopausal and modified radical mastectomy was performed in 96.6% of them. While 93.2% of the patients were diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, 52.7% of them had clinical N1 disease, 62% of them were staged as T2, 94% of them received chemotherapy and 57.1% of them received hormonal therapy. Metastatic lymph node ratio below 0.2 was 48.8%, between 0.21–0.65 it was 35.1% and above 0.65% it was 16.1%. Five-year Overall survival and progression-free survival rates were 76% and 58% respectively. Statistically significant difference was found between MLN/TRLN and age (p = 0.044), chemotherapy (p = 0.039), pathological lymph nodes (p <0.001) according to Pearson's Chi-Squared test. Factor affecting overall survival was Progesterone receptor status (p = 0.021) and for progression-free survival they were gender (p = 0.003) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (p = 0.018). Univariate and multivariate analysis found that gender (p = 0.04, OR 5.9, CI: 1.7–19.6) and lymph node (p = 0.05, OR: 1.4, CI: 0.9–2.1) were significant factors affecting progression-free survival.

Conclusion

MLN/TRLN was shown to have no effect on prognosis in non-metastatic breast cancer patients due to small number of patients and short follow-up period.

The prognostic value of lymph node ratio in survival of non-metastatic breast carcinoma patients

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to assess the correlation between lymph node ratio (LNR) and prognosis of non-metastatic invasive breast carcinoma.

METHOD

This retrospective study examined 455 patients who were diagnosed with non-metastatic, unilateral invasive breast carcinoma and underwent either breast conservative surgery (BCS) or modified radical mastectomy (MRM) with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with at least one lymph node identified in the ALND specimen. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to find out predictive cut-off values of the LNR and negative lymph nodes (NLN).

RESULTS

The median follow-up duration was 38 months. The median DFS and OS were 68 months and 72 months, respectively. 25.1% of patients had reported recurrence. The optimal cut-off value of LNR was 0.40. LNR was found to correlate significantly with pathological T (p < 0.001), pathological N (p < 0.001), and NLN (p < 0.001). Univariate analysis of the patients showed that the age group ≤ 35 years, menstrual status, pathological T, nodal status, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), perineural invasion (PNI), tumor grade, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), molecular subtypes, LNR, and NLN can affect disease-free survival (DFS) (p < 0.05) and OS (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that the pathological T (p < 0.001), menstrual status (p = 0.030), and LNR (p < 0.001) were the independent prognostic factors for DFS. Pathological T (p < 0.001) and LNR (p < 0.001) were the independent prognostic factors affecting OS.

CONCLUSION

LNR is the independent prognostic factor of DFS and OS for non-metastatic breast carcinoma.

Prognostic Value of Lymph Node Ratio in Breast Cancer Patients with Adequate Pathologic Evidence After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

BACKGROUND The prognostic role of axillary lymph node ratio (LNR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer has not been illuminated. This study was designed to investigate the prognostic role of LNR in breast cancer compared with traditional ypN stage. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 306 breast cancer patients diagnosed with positive axillary lymph nodes from January 2007 to December 2014 were eligible for this retrospective analysis. All enrolled patients were treated with a median of 4 cycles of NAC followed by mastectomy and level I, II, and III axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). RESULTS The median duration of follow-up was 78 months (range, 7-147 months). Univariate analysis indicated that both the LNR category (P<0.001) and ypN stage (P<0.001) were significant associated with event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). However, multivariate analysis indicated that the LNR category was independently associated with EFS (P<0.001) and OS (P<0.001), while the ypN stage showed no statistical effect on EFS (P=0.391) or OS (P=0.081). On additional analyses stratified by molecular subtypes, we found that the prognosis of triple negative breast cancer could be better discriminated when the cutoff value of LNR was set at 0.15. CONCLUSIONS LNR showed a superior predictive value in evaluating prognosis of breast cancer patients after NAC. In addition, the LNR cutoff point 0.15 can accurately discriminate survival outcomes for different triple negative breast cancer subtypes.

Axillary Lymph Node Involvement in Breast Cancer: A Random Walk Model of Tumor Burden

We reinvestigate the relationship between axillary lymph node involvement in breast cancer and the overall risk of death. Patients were women from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, aged between 50 and 65 years, presenting a first primary T1-T2 (tumor size ≤5 cm), node-positive, non-metastasized unilateral breast carcinoma, diagnosed from 1988 to 1997, treated with mastectomy without radiotherapy. Hazard ratios (HRs) were computed at each percentage of involved nodes using the proportional hazards model, adjusting for the patient's demographic and tumor characteristics. The pattern of the hazard ratios was examined using serial correlations. Significance testing used the "portmanteau" test. Based on 4,387 records available for analysis, the relation between adjusted mortality and axillary lymph node involvement was modeled as Ht - Ht- 1 = μ + at, where t is the percentage of involved nodes, Ht is the mortality hazard ratio at the percentage t, μ is a constant, and at is white noise. The constant μ was estimated at 0.020, corresponding to a 2% increment in the mortality hazard ratio per 1% increase in the percentage of positive nodes. The model was considered acceptable by the "portmanteau" test (P=0.205). We conclude that the effect of the tumor burden might be expressed as a random walk difference model, relating the mortality hazard ratio with the percentage of involved nodes. We will use the model to explore how treatments affect the course of the disease.

Modified lymph node ratio improves the prognostic predictive ability for breast cancer patients compared with other lymph node staging systems

Background

Metastatic regional lymph nodes (LN) is a strong predictor of worse long-term outcome. Therefore, different LN staging systems have been proposed in recent years. In this study, we proposed a modified lymph node ratio (mLNR) as a new lymph node staging system and then compared the prognostic performance of mLNR with American Joint Committee on Cancer N stage, lymph node ratio (LNR) and log odds of metastatic lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.

Methods

Breast cancer patients who underwent surgery between 2004 and 2012 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Restricted cubic spline functions were calculated to characterize the association between variables and the risk of death. The Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to assess the predictive ability of different lymph node staging systems using the Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) and Harrell’s concordance index (C-index).

Results

A total of 264,096 breast cancer patients were enrolled and 187,785 (71.1%) patients had a limited number of LNs harvested. In the limited LN harvest cohort, the prognostic performance of LNR decreased and mLNR could greatly solve this problem. In addition, among the entire cohort, mLNR modeled as a continuous value had the best predictive ability (AIC: 922021.9 and C-index: 0.727) than other lymph node staging systems.

Conclusions

The predictive ability of LNR is restricted by a limited LN harvest. However, mLNR shows superiority to LNR and other lymph node staging systems especially in a limited LN harvest cohort, making mLNR the most powerful lymph node staging systems.

•

We selected 264,096 patients, which is enough to support our conclusion.

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We used two indexes to fully verify the fit of different lymph staging systems.

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The mLNR improved the prognostic predictive ability best.

Lymph Node Ratio (LNR): Predicting Prognosis after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NAC) in Breast Cancer Patients

Objective

Axillary lymph node status is an important prognostic factor in breast cancer (BC). Residual nodal disease burden after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is one of the important prognostic factors to determine the prognosis and in the treatment of BC. Lymph node ratio (LNR) defined as the ratio of the number of positive lymph nodes to total excised axillary lymph nodes, may be a stronger determinant of prognosis than pN in axillary nodal staging, although there is very limited data evaluating its prognostic value in the setting of NAC. In this cohort of patients, we studied the utility of LNR in predicting recurrence and overall survival (OS) after NAC.

Materials and Methods

An Institutional cancer registry was queried from 2009 to 2014 for women with axillary node-positive BC with no evidence of distant metastasis, and who received NAC followed by surgery for loco-regional treatment (axillary dissection with breast conserving surgery or total mastectomy). Patients with axillary complete response were excluded. Locoregional recurrence (LRR), distant recurrence (DR) and overall survival (OS) rates were reviewed regarding pN and LNR.

Results

A total of 179 patients were analyzed. Median follow up time was 24 [25%, 75%: 13-42] months. Patients with pN1 in comparison to pN2 and pN3 had lower rate of LRR (9% vs. 15% and 14%, respectively; p=0.41), lower rate of DR (14% vs. 25% and 27%, respectively, p=0.16) and increased rate of OS (89% vs. 79% and 78%, respectively, p=0.04). In comparison to patients with LNR >20%, patients with LNR ≤20% had lower LRR (9% vs. 14%, p=0.25), lower DR (13% vs. 27%, p=0.01) and improved OS (89% vs. 79%, p=0.02) rates. In the pN1 group, patients who had a LNR >20% had higher DR (22% vs. 14%, p=0.48) rates in comparison to patients with LNR ≤20%. In ER/PR (+) patients who had LNR ≤20% DR was 6% compared with 23% in patient who had LNR >20% (p=0.02), and in triple negative patients' OS rate was significantly better compared the LNR less/equal or more than 20% (71% vs 33%, p=0.001).

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated that LNR adds valuable information for the prognosis after NAC and this additional information should be considered when deciding further treatment and follow-up for patients who had residual tumor burden on the axilla. This observation should be tested in a larger study.

Bayesian Inference of Lymph Node Ratio Estimation and Survival Prognosis for Breast Cancer Patients

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated the prognostic value of lymph node ratio (LNR) for the survival of breast cancer patients using Bayesian inference.

METHODS

Data on 5,279 women with infiltrating duct and lobular carcinoma breast cancer, diagnosed from 2006-2010, was obtained from the NCI SEER Cancer Registry. A prognostic modeling framework was proposed using Bayesian inference to estimate the impact of LNR in breast cancer survival. Based on the proposed model, we then developed a web application for estimating LNR and predicting overall survival.

RESULTS

The final survival model with LNR outperformed the other models considered (C-statistic 0.71). Compared to directly measured LNR, estimated LNR slightly increased the accuracy of the prognostic model. Model diagnostics and predictive performance confirmed the effectiveness of Bayesian modeling and the prognostic value of the LNR in predicting breast cancer survival.

CONCLUSION

The estimated LNR was found to have a significant predictive value for the overall survival of breast cancer patients.

SIGNIFICANCE

We used Bayesian inference to estimate LNR which was then used to predict overall survival. The models were developed from a large population-based cancer registry. We also built a user-friendly web application for individual patient survival prognosis. The diagnostic value of the LNR and the effectiveness of the proposed model were evaluated by comparisons with existing prediction models.

Effects of trastuzumab on locoregional recurrence in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy

PURPOSE

In the present study, the ability of adjuvant trastuzumab to reduce locoregional recurrence in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-overexpressing breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) was investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively included 520 patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer who received surgery followed by adjuvant RT and cytotoxic chemotherapy from 2003 to 2011. Adjuvant trastuzumab was administered to 286 patients. Propensity score matching was conducted to compare trastuzumab-treated and non-treated cohorts.

RESULTS

Median follow-up duration was 7.1 years (range 1.1-14.1 years). Propensity score matching yielded 171 matched pairs of patients with no significantly different clinical factors. An improved 7-year locoregional control (LRC) rate was observed in the trastuzumab-treated cohort compared with the non-treated cohort (95.6% vs. 89.9%, p = 0.014). Based on multivariate analysis, hormone receptor negativity (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.348, p = 0.007), positive lymph node ratio > 0.25 (HR = 2.549, p = 0.040), and lack of adjuvant trastuzumab (HR = 3.401, p = 0.017) were identified as significant risk factors for poor LRC. Adjuvant trastuzumab significantly reduced the locoregional recurrence rate in patients with one or two risk factors (7-year LRC = 95.0% vs. 84.2%, p = 0.007); however, the benefit of adjuvant trastuzumab was non-significant in patients with no risk factors (7-year LRC = 95.8% vs. 97.9%, p = 0.75).

CONCLUSIONS

Adjuvant trastuzumab improved LRC in patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer receiving adjuvant RT and cytotoxic chemotherapy, especially in hormone receptor-negative, HER2-enriched subtype, and high positive lymph node ratio breast cancer.

Evaluating the Prediction of Breast Cancer Survival Using Lymph Node Ratio

Purpose

Previous oncological studies showed that lymph node ratio (LNR) (ratio of number of lymph nodes that tested positive for metastasis to the total number of lymph nodes examined) is a negative indicator of cancer survival. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system incorporates tumor size, lymph node involvement, and metastasis in a comprehensive model of cancer progression, but LNR alone has been shown to outperform the AJCC system in prognostic and survival predictions for various types of cancer. The effectiveness of LNR has not been evaluated in breast cancer staging. Evaluating LNR for predicting cancer staging in breast cancer has the potential to improve treatment recommendations.

Methods

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results dataset was used to identify 10,655 breast cancer patients who underwent nodal evaluation from 2010 to 2013, and their LNRs were calculated. Descriptive statistics of lymph node evaluation in the patients are provided. Logistic regression with LNR as the continuous independent variable was conducted to determine whether LNR could predict cancer progression, coded as regional or distant. Analysis was conducted using SPSS version 24.

Results

Patient's mean age was 59.43±18.62. Logistic regression analysis revealed that for every 1.3% increase in LNR, the odds of falling into the distant stage of the TNM staging system increased by 13.7% (odds ratio, 14.73; 95% confidence interval, 12.00-18.08).

Conclusion

LNR, while correlated with breast cancer staging, serves as a better predictor of survival. Precision staging can influence treatment modality, and improved treatments can significantly improve quality of life. Additional research and diagnostic examinations using LNR as a potential tool for accurate staging in breast cancer patients are warranted.

Survival effect of different lymph node staging methods on ovarian cancer: An analysis of 10 878 patients

Background

To compare the survival impact of several lymph node staging methods and therapeutic role of lymphadenectomy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who had undergone lymphadenectomy.

Methods

Data were retrospectively collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program between 1988 and 2013.

Results

An increasing number of resected lymph nodes (RLNs) was associated with a significant improvement in survival of FIGO stage II and III disease. However, for FIGO stage IV patients, better survival was not significantly associated with a more extensive lymphadenectomy. A higher lymph node ratio (LNR) and log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) were associated with poorer survival regardless of stage. Nevertheless, four‐category classification of LODDS was more suitable for stage IV patients when three‐category classification was compatible with stage I‐III disease. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that LODDS and LNR were significant independent prognostic factors, but not RLN classification.

Conclusion

Sixteen to thirty RLNs are recommended for stage I disease. For stages II and III patients, the more lymph node excision, the better the prognosis. However, lymphadenectomy was nonessential for stage IV patients. Considering staging methods, for stages II and III patients, three‐category classification of LODDS was recommended to evaluate the prognosis. For stage I and IV, three‐category classification of positive LNR was idoneous.

Proposal of a modified American Joint Committee on Cancer staging scheme for resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with a lymph node ratio-based N classification: A retrospective cohort study

The recently launched 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging scheme for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) did not account for the impact of the total examined lymph node count on prognostic accuracy. In this population-based cohort study, we proposed a modified AJCC staging scheme by incorporating a lymph node ratio (LNR)-based N classification for patients with resectable PDAC.We analyzed 8615 patients with resectable PDAC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database between 2004 and 2013. The optimal cut-off points for LNR were identified by recursive partitioning, and an LNR-based N classification was designed accordingly.The LNR-based N classification could further stratify patients with the 8th AJCC N1 and N2 disease into subgroups with significantly different overall survival (P < .001 for both). By replacing the 8th AJCC N classification with the corresponding LNR-based N classification, we further proposed a modified AJCC staging scheme. The modified AJCC staging outperformed the 8th AJCC staging in terms of the discriminatory capacity measured by the concordance index and Akaike information criterion, and the prognostic homogeneity assessed by using the likelihood ratio chi-squared test and stratified survival analysis.Replacing the 8th AJCC N classification with the LNR-based N classification can improve the prognostic performance of the 8th AJCC staging scheme for PDAC.

Protein S100-A8: A potential metastasis-associated protein for breast cancer determined via iTRAQ quantitative proteomic and clinicopathological analysis

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in females, with metastasis of this type of cancer frequently proving lethal. However, there are still no effective biomarkers to predict breast cancer metastasis. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to analyze breast cancer metastasis-associated proteins and evaluate the association between protein S100-A8 and the prognosis of breast cancer. The isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) proteomic technique was used to analyze the differential expression of proteins between fresh primary breast tumor (PBT) tissue and fresh paired metastatic lymph nodes (PMLN) tissue. Subsequently, immunohistochemical staining was used to locate and assess the expression of protein S100-A8 in benign breast disease (n=15), primary breast cancer with (n=109) or without (n=83) metastasis, and in paired metastatic lymph nodes (n=109) formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue. Staining scores were evaluated and the association between protein S100-A8 expression levels and the clinicopathological characteristics of 192 patients with breast cancer were evaluated using the χ² test. Kaplan-Meier and Cox hazards regression analyses were utilized to investigate the association between the expression of protein S100-A8 and the prognosis of patients with breast cancer. A total of 4,837 proteins were identified using the iTRAQ proteomic technique. Among these proteins, 643 differentially expressed proteins were revealed. Protein S100-A8 expression levels were identified to differ between PBT and PMLN tissues. Immunohistochemical staining suggested a significant difference between NMBT and PMLN (P=0.002), and also between PBT and PMLN (P<0.001). Cox hazards regression model analyses suggested that histological grade (P=0.031) and nodal status (P=0.001) were risk factors for lymph nodes metastasis of breast cancer. Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed no significant relationship between protein S100-A8 expression level and overall survival rate of patients with breast cancer. In conclusion, by using the iTRAQ proteomic technique and immunohistochemistry staining, it was identified that protein S100-A8 may be associated with lymph nodes metastasis of breast cancer and be a marker for progression of breast cancer.

Pathologic lymph node ratio is a predictor of esophageal carcinoma patient survival: a literature-based pooled analysis

The positive lymph node ratio (LNR) has been suggested as a predictor of survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC). However, existed evidences did not completely agree with each other. We sought to examine whether LNR was associated with overall survival (OS). Electronic database was searched for eligible literatures. The primary outcome was the relationship between LNR and OS, which was presented as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). All statistical analyses were performed using STATA 11.0 software. A total of 18 relevant studies which involved 7,664 cases were included. Patients with an LNR of 0.3 or greater had an increased risk of death compared to those with an LNR of less than 0.3(HR = 2.33; 95% CI 2.03-2.68; P<0.01). Similarly, patients with an LNR greater than 0.5 was also associated with a decreased OS(HR = 1.95; 95% CI 1.52-2.50; P<0.01). No publication bias was found. This meta-analysis confirmed that LNR was a significant predictor of survival in patients with EC and should be considered in prognostication.

A Prognostic Model for Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Importance of the Modified Nottingham Prognostic Index and Age

Purpose

Considering the distinctive biology of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), this study aimed to identify TNBC-specific prognostic factors and determine the prognostic value of the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) and its variant indices.

Methods

A total of 233 patients with newly diagnosed stage I to III TNBC from 2003 to 2012 were reviewed. We retrospectively analyzed the patients' demographics, clinicopathologic parameters, treatment, and survival outcomes. The NPI was calculated as follows: tumor size (cm)×0.2+node status+Scarff-Bloom-Richardson (SBR) grade. The modified NPI (MNPI) was obtained by adding the modified SBR grade rather than the SBR grade.

Results

The median follow-up was 67.8 months. Five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 81.4% and 89.9%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that the MNPI was the most significant and common prognostic factor of DFS (p=0.001) and OS (p=0.019). Young age (≤35 years) was also correlated with poor DFS (p=0.006). A recursive partitioning for establishing the prognostic model for DFS was performed based on the results of multivariate analysis. Patients with a low MNPI (≤6.5) were stratified into the low-risk group (p<0.001), and patients with a high MNPI (>6.5) were subdivided into the intermediate (>35 years) and high-risk (≤35 years) groups. Age was not a prognostic factor in patients with a low MNPI, whereas in patients with a high MNPI, it was the second key factor in subdividing patients according to prognosis (p=0.023).

Conclusion

The MNPI could be used to stratify patients with stage I to III TNBC according to prognosis. It was the most important prognosticator for both DFS and OS. The prognostic significance of young age for DFS differed by MNPI.

A systematic review of the prognostic value of lymph node ratio, number of positive nodes and total nodes examined in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common pancreatic cancer. Five-year overall survival is currently 3.3-6.0%. The aim of this review was to evaluate the prognostic value of lymph node ratio, number of positive nodes and total nodes examined on overall survival rate following pancreatic resection. MATERIALS AND METHODS A literature search was conducted of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and Central Register of Controlled Trials and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review databases, from January 1996 to January 2016. RESULTS Overall, 19 studies including 4,883 patients examined the relationship between lymph node ratio and overall survival. A high lymph node ratio was associated with decreased overall survival in 17 studies. A total of 12 studies examined the relationship between the number of positive nodes and overall survival, and 11 studies revealed that an increase in the number of positive nodes was associated with decreased overall survival. In 15 studies examining the relationship between the total nodes examined and overall survival, there was no association with overall survival in 12 studies. CONCLUSIONS Lymph node ratio and number of positive nodes are factors associated with overall survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, but not total nodes examined.

Relevance of Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cell Composition and Functionality for Disease Outcome in Breast Cancer

Background

Not all breast cancer patients benefit from neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy, resulting in considerable undertreatment or overtreatment. New insights into the role of tumor-infiltrating immune cells suggest that their composition, as well as their functionality, might serve as a biomarker to enable optimal patient selection for current systemic therapies and upcoming treatment options such as immunotherapy.

Methods

We performed several complementary unbiased in silico analyses on gene expression profiles of 7270 unrelated tumor samples of nonmetastatic breast cancer patients with known clinical follow-up. CIBERSORT was used to estimate the fraction of 22 immune cell types to study their relations with pathological complete response (pCR), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). In addition, we used four previously reported immune gene signatures and a CD8+ T-cell exhaustion signature to assess their relationships with breast cancer outcome. Multivariable binary logistic regression and multivariable Cox regression were used to assess the association of immune cell-type fractions and immune signatures with pCR and DFS/OS, respectively.

Results

Increased fraction of regulatory T-cells in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive tumors was associated with a lower pCR rate (odds ratio [OR] = 0.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.03 to 0.69), as well as shorter DFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.13, 95% CI = 1.23 to 7.98) and OS (HR = 7.69, 95% CI = 3.43 to 17.23). A higher fraction of M0 macrophages in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors was associated with worse DFS (HR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.18 to 2.33) and, in ER-positive/HER2-negative tumors, with worse OS (HR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.12 to 2.61). Increased fractions of γδ T-cells in all breast cancer patients related to a higher pCR rate (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.01 to 2.38), prolonged DFS (HR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.48 to 0.98), and, in HER2-positive tumors, with prolonged OS (HR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.73). A higher fraction of activated mast cells was associated with worse DFS (HR = 5.85, 95% CI = 2.20 to 15.54) and OS (HR = 5.33, 95% CI = 2.04 to 13.91) in HER2-positive tumors. The composition of relevant immune cell types frequently differed per breast cancer subtype. Furthermore, a high CD8+ T-cell exhaustion signature score was associated with shortened DFS in patients with ER-positive tumors regardless of HER2 status (HR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.07 to 3.04).

Conclusions

The main hypothesis generated in our unbiased in silico approach is that a multitude of immune cells are related to treatment response and outcome in breast cancer.

Prognostic Value of Axillary Nodal Ratio after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy of Doxorubicin/Cyclophosphamide Followed by Docetaxel in Breast Cancer: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the prognostic value of lymph node (LN) ratio (LNR) in patients with breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Materials and Methods

This retrospective analysis is based on the data of 814 patientswith stage II/III breast cancer treated with four cycles of doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide followed by four cycles of docetaxel before surgery. We evaluated the clinical significance of LNR (3 categories: low 0-0.20 vs. intermediate 0.21-0.65 vs. high 0.66-1.00) using a Cox proportional regression model.

Results

A total of 799 patients underwent breast surgery. Pathologic complete response (pCR, ypT0/isN0) was achieved in 129 patients (16.1%) (hormone receptor [HR] +/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2] –, 34/373 [9.1%]; HER2+, 45/210 [21.4%]; triple negative breast cancer, 50/216 [23.1%]). The mean numbers of involved LN and retrieved LN were 2.70 (range, 0 to 42) and 13.98 (range, 1 to 64), respectively. The mean LNR was 0.17 (low, 574 [71.8%]; intermediate, 170 [21.3%]; high, 55 [6.9%]). In univariate analysis, LNR showed significant association with a worse relapse-free survival (3-year relapse-free survival rate 84.8% in low vs. 66.2% in intermediate vs. 54.3% in high; p < 0.001, log-rank test). In multivariate analysis, LNR did not show significant association with recurrence after adjusting for other clinical factors (age, histologic grade, subtype, ypT stage, ypN stage, lymphatic or vascular invasion, and pCR). In subgroup analysis, the LNR system had good prognostic value in HR+/HER2–subtype.

Conclusion

LNR is not superior to ypN stage in predicting clinical outcome of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, the prognostic value of the LNR system in HR+/HER2–patients is notable and worthy of further investigation.

Ratio and log odds of positive lymph nodes in breast cancer patients with mastectomy

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the predictive role of lymph nodes (LNs) and assess the prognostic significance of the ratio of positive LNs (LNR) and log odds of positive LNs (LODDS) in breast cancer patients who have undergone a mastectomy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

All of the breast cancer patients in the Taiwan Cancer Database during 2002-2006 were considered. We excluded patients who had inflammatory breast cancer, stage 0 and IV disease, breast conservative surgery or survival <1 month. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). A Cox hazards model was constructed and compared via Nagelkerke R(2) (R(2)N) and receiver operating characteristics (ROC).

RESULTS

A total of 11,349 (6042 node-negative, 5307 node-positive) patients were enrolled, and 10.5% patients had a limited number of LNs harvested. In a multivariate Cox model, LNR and LODDS demonstrated prognostic significance (<0.001). For node-positive patients, a model with LNR showed the best fit (P < 0.001; R(2)N = 18.2%) when sufficient LNs were examined. However, a model with LODDS showed the best fit in patients with a limited number of LNs harvested (P < 0.001; R(2)N = 21.1%), even in node-negative patients (P = 0.004; R(2)N = 13.5%). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was highest for LODDS (AUC: 0.761), followed by LNR (AUC: 0.757). A limited LN harvest induced an AUC value for an approximate 3.6% loss (LNR) or 3.1% loss (LODDS).

CONCLUSION

The prognostic superiority of LNR is confounded by a limited LN harvest, thus making LODDS the most powerful and unified prognostic classifier in breast cancer patients who have had a mastectomy.

Recursive partitioning analysis of lymph node ratio in breast cancer patients

Lymph node ratio (LNR) is a powerful prognostic factor for breast cancer. We conducted a recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) of the LNR to identify the prognostic risk groups in breast cancer patients. Records of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients between 2002 and 2006 were searched in the Taiwan Cancer Database. The end of follow-up was December 31, 2009. We excluded patients with distant metastases, inflammatory breast cancer, survival <1 month, no mastectomy, or missing lymph node status. Primary outcome was 5-year overall survival (OS). For univariate significant predictors, RPA were used to determine the risk groups. Among the 11,349 eligible patients, we identified 4 prognostic factors (including LNR) for survival, resulting in 8 terminal nodes. The LNR cutoffs were 0.038, 0.259, and 0.738, which divided LNR into 4 categories: very low (LNR ≤ 0.038), low (0.038 < LNR ≤ 0.259), moderate (0.259 < LNR ≤ 0.738), and high (0.738 < LNR). Then, 4 risk groups were determined as follows: Class 1 (very low risk, 8,265 patients), Class 2 (low risk, 1,901 patients), Class 3 (moderate risk, 274 patients), and Class 4 (high risk, 900 patients). The 5-year OS for Class 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 93.2%, 83.1%, 72.3%, and 56.9%, respectively (P< 0.001). The hazard ratio of death was 2.70, 4.52, and 8.59 (95% confidence interval 2.32-3.13, 3.49-5.86, and 7.48-9.88, respectively) times for Class 2, 3, and 4 compared with Class 1 (P < 0.001). In conclusion, we identified the optimal cutoff LNR values based on RPA and determined the related risk groups, which successfully predict 5-year OS in breast cancer patients.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor regulates mammary tumorigenesis and metastasis

The role of 17β-estradiol (E2) in breast cancer development and tumor growth has traditionally been attributed exclusively to the activation of estrogen receptor-α (ERα). Although targeted inhibition of ERα is a successful approach for patients with ERα(+) breast cancer, many patients fail to respond or become resistant to anti-estrogen therapy. The discovery of the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) suggested an additional mechanism through which E2 could exert its effects in breast cancer. Studies have demonstrated clinical correlations between GPER expression in human breast tumor specimens and increased tumor size, distant metastasis, and recurrence, as well as established a proliferative role for GPER in vitro; however, direct in vivo evidence has been lacking. To this end, a GPER-null mutation [GPER knockout (KO)] was introduced, through interbreeding, into a widely used transgenic mouse model of mammary tumorigenesis [MMTV-PyMT (PyMT)]. Early tumor development, assessed by the extent of hyperplasia and proliferation, was not different between GPER wild-type/PyMT (WT/PyMT) and those mice harboring the GPER-null mutation (KO/PyMT). However, by 12 to 13 weeks of age, tumors from KO/PyMT mice were smaller with decreased proliferation compared with those from WT/PyMT mice. Furthermore, tumors from the KO/PyMT mice were of histologically lower grade compared with tumors from their WT counterparts, suggesting less aggressive tumors in the KO/PyMT mice. Finally, KO/PyMT mice displayed dramatically fewer lung metastases compared with WT/PyMT mice. Combined, these data provide the first in vivo evidence that GPER plays a critical role in breast tumor growth and distant metastasis.

IMPLICATIONS

This is the first description of a role for the novel estrogen receptor GPER in breast tumorigenesis and metastasis, demonstrating that it represents a new target in breast cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.