Number of axillary lymph node metastases determined by preoperative ultrasound is related to prognosis in patients with breast cancer

Objective: To analyze the impact on prognosis of the number of axillary lymph node metastases (LNM) detected by ultrasound (US) in patients with breast cancer.Methods: One-to-one comparison of LNM was performed between the ultrasound and histologic diagnosis in 380 patients. Results: The accuracy of preoperative ultrasound diagnosis was 79.7%. According to the subdivision of number of LNM (0, 1-3, 4-9, 10+), the accuracy rates associated with LNM were 82%, 49%, 34%, and 86%, respectively. The disease-free-survival curves according to the number of LNM were similar in them. Conclusion: Preoperative ultrasound can determine axillary involvement and may be useful for predicting prognosis.