Diagnostic value of ultrasound and color Doppler in identifying axillary lymph node metastases in patients with breast cancer

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of ultrasound and color Doppler in axillary lymph node metastases of patients with breast cancer.

Material and methods: A prospective study including 55 patients with primitive, invasive, node negative breast cancer who underwent preoperative axillary ultrasound and color Doppler. Doppler and morphologic ultrasound criteria were applied to the identification of axillary lymph node metastases.

Results: The imagery study of all 55 patients identified a total of 141 nodes; 44 were considered to be positive according to established criteria. The histological examination of the axillary dissection revealed a total of 989 nodes; 77 out of 989 presented metastases; all invaded nodes belonged to 21 patients. The previous imagiologic study was positive for axillary lymph node metastases in 15 out of these 21 patients. A sensitivity of 71.4%, a specificity of 71.4%, a negative predictive value of 80.6% and a positive predictive value of 60.0% were achieved.

Conclusion: The imagery study of the axillary region through ultrasound and color Doppler might be useful in assessing axillary lymph node metastases in patients with breast cancer.

Breast cancer; Axillary nodes; Ultrasound; Color Doppler

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