Axillary Lymph Node Nanometastases Are Prognostic Factors for Disease-Free Survival and Metastatic Relapse in Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract
Purpose: Early breast cancer presents with a remarkable heterogeneity of outcomes. Undetected, microscopic lymph node tumor deposits may account for a significant fraction of this prognostic diversity. Thus, we systematically evaluated the presence of lymph node tumor cell deposits ≤0.2 mm in diameter [pN0(i+), nanometastases] and analyzed their prognostic effect.