Correlation between obesity and fat-infiltrated axillary lymph nodes visualized on mammography

Objective: Using screening mammography, this study investigated the association between obesity and axillary lymph node (LN) size and morphology. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 188 females who underwent screening mammography at an academic medical centre. Length and width of the LN and hilum were measured in the largest, mammographically visible axillary node. The hilo-cortical ratio (HCR) was calculated as the hilar width divided by the cortical width. Measurements were performed by a board certified breast radiologist and a resident radiology physician. Inter-rater agreement was assessed with Pearson correlation coefficient. We performed multivariable regression analysis for associations of LN measurements with body mass index (BMI), breast density and age. Results: There was a strong association between BMI and LN dimensions, hilum dimensions and HCR (p < 0.001 for all metrics). There was no significant change in cortex width with increasing BMI (p = 0.15). Increases in LN length and width were found with increasing BMI [0.6 mm increase in length per unit BMI, 95% CI (0.4-0.8), p < 0.001 and 0.3 mm increase in width per unit BMI, 95% CI (0.2-0.4), p < 0.001, respectively]. Inter-rater reliability for lymph node and hilum measurements was 0.57-0.72. Conclusion: We found a highly significant association between increasing BMI and axillary LN dimensions independent of age and breast density with strong interobserver agreement. The increase in LN size was driven by expansion of the LN hilum secondary to fat infiltration. Advances in knowledge: This preliminary work determined a relationship between fat infiltrated axillary lymph nodes and obesity.