Factors related to axillary lymph node metastasis in T1 breast carcinoma

The current study was performed on 38 cases of Tl breast cancers (less than or equal to 2 cm in greatest diameter) to identify the factors related to recognition of axillary lymph node (AxLN) metastasis. Ten patients (26.3%) had lymph node metastases. Comparing the AxLN positive ((+)) group with the AxLN negative ((-)) group revealed that tumor size and hormone receptor status as well as age of the patients were not significantly different. However, the Ki-67 labeling index (22.2+/-5.9% vs. 12.5+/-2.8%), the microvessel count (43.8+/-12.4/0.785 mm(2) vs. 27.0+/-8.4/0.785 mm(2)) and Bcl-2(+) cases (70% vs. 29%) were significantly higher in the AxLN(+) cases. These results suggest that the Ki-67 labeling index, microvessel count and Bcl-2 expression, especially when combined, are useful predictors of AxLN metastases in Tl breast cancers.