Lymphovascular Invasion is a Significant Prognostic Marker of Distant Metastasis in Breast Carcinoma

Abstract

Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is not incorporated in most staging systems although assessment of LVI is now part of the minimum data set for breast carcinoma pathology reporting. This study investigates the correlation between LVI with clinical staging, grading and prediction of patients’ survival in patients with invasive breast carcinoma. This was a retrospective study using data obtained from reviewing archival histological material and patients’ medical records at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sabah, Malaysia. Breast carcinoma samples from 117 female patients at all stages of disease were included in this study. Correlation was performed between LVI and staging, grading, lymph node (LN) status and patient’s clinical outcome after five years of diagnoses. LVI showed significant correlation with LN involvement and distant metastasis but no significant correlation between LVI and grading. LVI correlates with clinical staging and is a reliable predictor of outcome in patients with invasive breast carcinoma.

Keywords

• Invasive breast carcinoma
• Lymphovascular invasion
• Staging
• Grading
• Prognosis