Faculty Publications

Prognostic Value Of Nodal Ratios In Node-Positive Breast Cancer: A Compiled Update

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Breast cancer, Comparability, INRWG, International Nodal Ratio Working Group, Lymph node, Overdispersion, Staging

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Future Oncology

Volume

5

Issue

10

First Page

1585

Last Page

1603

Abstract

The number of positive axillary nodes is a strong prognostic factor in breast cancer, but is affected by variability in nodal staging technique yielding varying numbers of excised nodes. The nodal ratio of positive to excised nodes is an alternative that could address this variability. Our 2006 review found that the nodal ratio consistently outperformed the number of positive nodes, providing strong arguments for the use of nodal ratios in breast cancer staging and management. New evidence has continued to accrue confirming the prognostic significance of nodal ratios in various worldwide population settings. This review provides an updated summary of available data, and discusses the potential application of the nodal ratio to breast cancer staging and prognostication, its role in the context of modern surgical techniques such as sentinel node biopsy, and its potential correlations with new biologic markers such as circulating tumor cells and breast cancer stem cells. © 2009 Future Medicine Ltd.

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

Original Publication Date

12-1-2009

DOI of published version

10.2217/fon.09.129

Link to Full Text

Comments?

Share

COinS