The quotient of number of nodes and tumour size (N/T) from primary breast cancer predicts the clinical course after diagnosis of distant relapse.

INTRODUCTION

Breast cancer is a disease with a very variable progression. Primary tumour size and metastatic lymph node involvement are the best indicators of the likelihood of relapse. However, their value in predicting progression following relapse is not clear.

AIM

The aim of this study was to asses whether the relationship between tumour size and the number of lymph nodes involved had any value as predictive factors of post-relapse progression.

METHOD

We established an index defined as the quotient between the number of diseased lymph nodes and the tumour size (in cm).

RESULTS

Applying this index in 230 consecutive patients with metastatic breast cancer, we observed that there was a significant inverse relation between the index and post-relapse progression.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that, at the time of initial diagnosis, the quotient of tumour size and the number of diseased lymph nodes could be a good predictor of time-to-progression following the diagnosis of the metastatic disease.