BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is one of the preferred treatments for breast cancer including clinically negative lymph node breast cancer. However, for 60–70% of patients this invasive axilla surgery is unnecessary. Our study aimed to identify the predictors for sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis in early breast cancer patients and provide evidence for rational decision-making in specified clinical situations.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Medical records of 417 breast cancer patients who were treated with a breast surgical procedure and SLNB in Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Eastern Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the correlation between SLN metastasis and clinicopathological characteristics, including patient age, menstrual status, body mass index (BMI), family history, tumor size, laterality of tumor, histological grade, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), Ki67 index, and molecular subtypes of the tumor.

RESULTS: In the cohort of 417 cases, the ratio of SLNM was 23.0%. Univariate analysis found that age, tumor size, histological grade, and Ki67 index were associated with SLN metastasis. However, age, tumor size, and histological grade were the only three independent predictors for SLN metastasis by multivariate logistic regression analysis. When these three factors were considered together, three different levels of SLN metastasis groups could be classified: low-risk group with the ratio of 14.3%, moderate-risk group with the ratio of 31.4%, and high-risk group with the ratio of 66.7%.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that age, tumor size, and histological grade were three independent predictive factors for SLN metastasis in early breast cancer patients. This finding may help surgeons in the decision-making process for early breast cancer patients before considering axilla surgical procedure.

Keywords: Multivariate Analysis, Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy