Potential predictor of prognosis in breast carcinoma: Tumor budding

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (IBC-NST) accounting for the majority of cases.

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between tumor budding (TB), which is the earliest histological indicator of tumor spread and represents epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and prognostic factors as well as the effect of TB on survival in patients with IBC-NST, thereby demonstrating its potential prognostic value.

This study included 278 cases of breast resection diagnosed with IBC-NST from 2014 to 2019. Total tumor buds were counted in 10 high-power fields of a hematoxylin and eosin-stained section with the most infiltrative area at 400× magnification. The cutoff value for TB was obtained using receiver operating characteristic analysis for mortality and recurrence risk; this cutoff value was used to classify TB into two categories: low and high grades. The relationship between TB and prognostic factors and the effect of TB on the survival of patients were investigated.

This study revealed a statistically significant relationship between high-grade TB and increased tumor size, advanced pathological primary tumor (pT) category, lymph node metastasis, lymphatic invasion, blood vessel invasion, increased recurrence, and mortality as well as reduced overall and disease-free survival.

TB in breast carcinomas may have significant predictive value for prognosis. It emerges as a simple, reproducible, and cost-effective histological marker. With the standardization of evaluation criteria, TB may be readily integrated into routine pathological examination, thereby increasing its value in clinical patient management.