Related Experiment Videos
Female breast cancer with 'clandestine' lymph node metastases
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Transkei Umtata, South Africa.
East African Medical Journal
|March 5, 1999
Summary
Breast cancer with occult lymph node metastases, identified via immunostaining, showed no significant differences in clinical features or hormone receptor status compared to those with larger metastases. Detecting these
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pathology
- Immunohistochemistry
Background:
- Breast cancer staging relies on lymph node metastasis detection.
- Microscopic metastases ('clandestine' metastases) may be missed by standard methods.
- Immunohistochemistry offers enhanced sensitivity for detecting small tumor cell populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare breast cancers with 'clandestine' lymph node metastases to those with macrometastases.
- To investigate if 'clandestine' metastases impact clinico-pathologic features or hormone receptor status.
- To assess the clinical significance of detecting 'clandestine' breast cancer metastases.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 116 female breast cancer cases over two years.
- Axillary contents were immuno-stained to identify tumor cells (clandestine metastases).
- Comparison of clinico-pathologic features and hormone receptor status between groups.
Main Results:
- Prevalence of 'clandestine' lymph node metastases was 14.7%.
- Infiltrating lobular carcinoma (ILC) was more frequent in cases with 'clandestine' metastases (p=0.038).
- No significant difference in hormone receptor status was observed between groups.
Conclusions:
- Breast cancers with 'clandestine' or macrometastases share similar clinico-pathologic features and hormone receptor status.
- 'Clandestine' metastases detection is labor-intensive.
- Current evidence does not support the clinical significance of detecting 'clandestine' metastases.