TABLE 1.
Clinicopathological characteristics stratified by retrieval of the clipped node as an SLN (yes versus no)
| Overall cohort (n = 251) |
Clip in the sentinel node (n = 220) |
Clip not in the sentinel node (n = 31) |
p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 51 (41, 58) | 50 (41, 59) | 53 (42, 57) | 0.7 |
| BMI, kg/m2, median (IQR) | 27 (23, 31) | 27 (23, 31) | 26 (21, 30) | 0.3 |
| Clinical T stage at presentation | 0.8 | |||
| 1 | 54 (22) | 49 (22) | 5 (16) | |
| 2 | 135 (54) | 118 (54) | 17 (55) | |
| 3 | 55 (22) | 47 (21) | 8 (26) | |
| X | 7 (2.8) | 6 (2.7) | 1 (3.2) | |
| Palpable node at presentation | 0.3 | |||
| Yes | 191 (76) | 170 (77) | 21 (68) | |
| Borderline | 6 (2.4) | 6 (2.7) | 0 (0) | |
| No | 54 (22) | 44 (20) | 10 (32) | |
| Number of abnormal nodes on ultrasound at presentation | 0.5 | |||
| 1 | 168 (67) | 146 (66) | 22 (71) | |
| 2 | 49 (20) | 43 (20) | 6 (19) | |
| 3 | 24 (9.6) | 23 (10) | 1 (3.2) | |
| >4 | 10 (4.0) | 8 (3.6) | 2 (6.5) | |
| Type of surgery | 0.2 | |||
| Mastectomy | 133 (53) | 113 (51) | 20 (65) | |
| BCT | 111(44) | 101 (46) | 10 (32) | |
| No breast surgery* | 7 (2.8) | 6 (2.7) | 1 (3.2) | |
| Number of sentinel nodes removed, median (IQR) | 4 (3, 5) | 4 (3, 5) | 4 (3, 5) | 0.8 |
| ypN stage | 0.3 | |||
| 0 | 117 (47) | 99 (45) | 18 (58) | |
| 1 | 91 (36) | 84 (38) | 7 (23) | |
| 2 | 32 (13) | 28 (13) | 4 (13) | |
| 3 | 11 (4.4) | 9 (4.1) | 2 (6.5) | |
| Breast pCR † | 0.8 | |||
| Yes | 81 (32) | 72 (33) | 9 (30) | |
| LVI †† | 0.2 | |||
| Yes | 82 (33) | 68 (31) | 14 (45) | |
| Histology | 0.6 | |||
| Ductal | 231 (92) | 201 (91) | 30 (97) | |
| Lobular or mixed | 11 (4.4) | 11 (5) | 0 (0) | |
| Other | 9 (3.6) | 8 (3.6) | 1 (3.2) | |
| Differentiation | 0.9 | |||
| Well | 1 (0.4) | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0) | |
| Moderately | 77 (31) | 67 (31) | 10 (33) | |
| Poorly | 168 (68) | 148 (69) | 20 (67) | |
| Unknown | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
| Subtype | 0.8 | |||
| HR+/HER2− | 116 (46) | 100 (45) | 16 (52) | |
| HER2+ | 83 (33) | 74 (34) | 9 (29) | |
| HR−/HER2− | 52 (21) | 46 (21) | 6 (19) |
Frequency (row percent) reported for categorical variables, and median (IQR) reported for continuous variables.
*
Occult primary carcinoma
†
Applies to non-occult cases only
††
LVI was present on core biopsy or final pathology
BMI body mass index, pCR pathological complete response, LVI lymphovascular invasion, HR hormone receptor, HER2 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2