EVALUATION OF AXILLARY LYMPH NODES IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WITH ATOPIC DERMATITIS

This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in detecting axillary lymph node metastases in women with breast cancer and atopic dermatitis. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 91 breast cancer patients with a history of atopic dermatitis and compared the dimensions of the lymph nodes on ultrasonographic images of women with and without lymph node metastases diagnosed using histology. Using a major-axis length of >= 5 mm, a short-axis length of >= 5 mm and a cortical thickness of >= 2.3 mm as the criteria for diagnosing axillary lymph node metastases, the specificity was 12.7%, 41.3% and 58.7%, respectively. The low specificity of the ultrasound criteria makes ultrasound unsuitable for diagnosing axillary lymph nodes metastases in breast cancer patients with atopic dermatitis. (E-mail: Yuchanyuchan1104@msn.com) (c) 2020 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, ultrasound was found to have low specificity in diagnosing axillary lymph node metastases in breast cancer patients with atopic dermatitis, indicating that it may not be suitable for this particular group of patients.