Intraoperative prediction of non-sentinel lymph node metastasis based on the molecular assay in breast cancer patients

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study is to construct an intraoperative nomogram for the prediction of non-sentinel lymph node (NSLN) metastasis based on the one-step nucleic acid amplification assay in breast cancer patients. Methods: A total of 552 patients were enrolled in the training study and 1090 patients were enrolled in the validation study. The nomogram was constructed based on the molecular assay with logistic multivariate regression analysis in the training study and was validated in the validation study. Results: A novel nomogram model was constructed with the total tumor load, the clinical primary tumor size, the number of positive and negative sentinel lymph nodes. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the model was 0.842. The AUC of the model which was sensitive to discern the patients with the stage of pN1 and >pN2 was 0.861. Conclusion: The nomogram model will help to guide the axillary management intraopera-tively and precisely confirm the target region of radiotherapy postoperatively.