Value of ultrasound features combined with clinicopathological features in predicting non-sentinel lymph node metasta-sis in sentinel lymph node positive TNBC patients
JIAO Xiuxia
WANG Qi
DUAN Yunan
LI Huajuan
Abstract：Objective To explore the predictive accuracy of non-sentinel lymph node metastasis(NSLN)in patients with sentinel lymph node(SLN)-positive triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC)by combining ultrasound features and clinicopathologi-cal features.Methods A total of 140 SLN-positive TNBC patients were divided into metastatic group(n=44)and non-metastatic group(n=96)according to whether the patients had NSLN metastasis.The ultrasound characteristics and clinicopatho-logical characteristics of two groups were compared.Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the influencing factors of NSLN metastasis in SLN-positive TNBC patients.ROC curve analysis was used to analyze the predictive performance of ultra-sound features combined with clinicopathological features on NSLN metastasis in SLN-positive TNBC patients.Results The proportion of tumor size≥2 cm,burr sign,blood flow grade Ⅱ-Ⅲ,T2 stage and SLN positive number>the metastasis group were higher than those in the non-metastasis group(all P<0.05).The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the spur sign,blood flow grade Ⅱ-Ⅲ,and the number of SLN-positive>2 were independent risk factors for NSLN metasta-sis in patients with SLN-positive TNBC(all P<0.05,OR>1).The results of ROC analysis showed that the AUC of burr sign,blood flow grade and number of SLN positive in predicting NSLN metastasis alone and in combination were 0.734,0.716,0.749 and 0.876,respectively.The prediction performance of the three joint tests was higher than that of the individual tests(Z=2.547,3.012,2.448,all P<0.05).Conclusion Ultrasonography is closely related to the number of spurs,blood flow grade Ⅱ-Ⅲ,and the number of positive SLNs>2,which are closely related to NSLN metastasis,and the combination of the three can help im-prove the predictive performance of NSLN.
Keywords：Ultrasonic examinationTriple-negative breast cancerSentinel lymph nodes metastasisNon-sentinel lymph node metastasis
Publication Date：2026-01-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-20(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 46-50 )