RT  - European Journal of Gynaecological Oncology
ID  - 10.12892/ejgo2663.2015
T1  - Diagnostic accuracy of 1.5 Tesla breast magnetic resonance imaging in the pre operative assessment of axillary lymph nodes
A1  - C. de Felice
A1  - V. Cipolla
A1  - A. Stagnitti
A1  - L.M. Porfiri
A1  - D. Guerrieri
A1  - A. Musella
A1  - D. Santucci
A1  - M.L. Meggiorini
K1  - Breast cancer; Axillary lymph nodes; Magnetic resonance imaging.
YR  - 2015
SP  - 447
AB  - <p>The purpose of this study was to test the accuracy of 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (1.5T MRI) in the preoperative evaluation of axillary lymph nodes in patients with invasive breast cancer. The authors retrospectively analyzed 26 patients with invasive breast cancer who had undergone sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and/or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). All patients had been submitted to preoperative contrast enhanced breast 1.5T MRI. On the basis of lymph nodes morphological and dynamic characteristics, lymph nodes were classified as “negative” (short axis &lt; 5 mm), “borderline” (short axis &gt; 5 mm, absence of a hilum) or “positive” (short axis &gt; 5 mm, absence of a hilum and also other suspicious features). The authors compared 1.5T MRI results with the outcome of histological analysis performed according to the TNM criteria; sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 1.5T MRI were evaluated. Considering only the lymph nodes “positive”, 1.5 T MRI showed: SE 37.8%, SP 99.3%, FP 0.7%, PPV 92.5%, and NPV 88.1%. However, considering also “borderline”, 1.5T MRI achieved: SE 75.7%, SP 99.3%, FP 0.7%, PPV 96.1%, and NPV was 95%. Contrast enhanced breast 1.5T MRI is not yet a valid alternative to histological analysis but it is a valid tool for a preoperative study of the topography of axillary lymph nodes and has the potential to become a routine method for evaluating the metastatic lymph nodes before submission to ALND.</p>