Prognostic factors predicting recurrence in invasive breast cancer: An analysis of radiological and clinicopathological factors

Abstract

Summary: Background/Objective: The purpose of this study was to perform a comprehensive analysis of the radiological and clinicopathological factors that could predict recurrence of invasive breast cancer who underwent curative surgery without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: Three hundred and sixty-four consecutive women who underwent preoperative mammography, ultrasound, and breast magnetic resonance imaging for newly diagnosed invasive breast cancers and curative surgery between January and December 2010 were included. We analyzed the radiological findings of each modality and reviewed the histopathological features. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the association between the radiological and clinicopathological parameters and disease-free survival (DFS). Results: During the median follow-up period of 5.3 years, 23 patients (6.3%) developed recurrences: locoregional recurrence in six patients, contralateral breast recurrence in three patients, and distant recurrences in 14 patients. Microcalcifications on mammography showed a tendency towards worse DFS. The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that presence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (p = 0.006), negative progesterone receptor (PR) status (p < 0.001), and positive CK5/6 expression (p = 0.015) were independent significant variables predictive of worse DFS. Conclusion: Understanding the prognostic factors in patients with invasive breast cancer may provide considerable practical information about future treatment strategies. Keywords: Breast cancer, Prognostic factor, Recurrence, Survival