Magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of axillary lymph nodes in patients with early-stage invasive breast cancer

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting axillary metastasis in early-stage invasive breast tumors. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of images and reports from MRI scans performed between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2019 at our institution. The images were analyzed by a radiologist specializing in breast imaging, who evaluated the presence or absence of signs of metastatic involvement of the axillary lymph nodes, comparing the findings with existing reports and with the results of the pathology evaluation of the sentinel lymph node or other resected lymph nodes. Results: The sensitivity of MRI for detecting axillary metastasis was poor in our study sample because of the low axillary tumor burden in this group of patients. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 35.0% and 81.2%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 26.9% and 86.3%, respectively. Conclusion: It seems that MRI has good specificity in the detection of axillary metastases, especially for those considered macro-metastases. However, its sensitivity in our study was inferior to that reported in the most recent studies.