PURPOSE: To investigate if extracapsular extension (ECE) of axillary lymph node @entity3 predicts for a decreased rate of disease-free survival or an increased rate of regional recurrence of @entity0 . METHODS: The study population consisted of 368 @entity1 with T1 or T2 @entity0 and pathologically-positive @entity1600 treated with breast-conserving therapy between 1968 and 1986. The median number of sampled @entity1600 was 10. Median follow-up time for the surviving @entity1 was 139 months (range 70-244). Twenty percent of the @entity1 were treated with supraclavicular RT, and 64% received both axillary and supraclavicular RT, with a median dose to the nodes of 45 Gy. The following factors were evaluated: presence of ECE, number of sampled @entity1600 ( @entity1600 ), number of involved @entity1600 , size of primary @entity5 , histologic grade of @entity5 , presence of lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI), presence of an extensive intraductal component (EIC), radiation dose, use of adjuvant chemotherapy, and age of @entity1 . Recurrences were reported as the 5-year crude sites of first failure, and were divided into breast recurrences (LR), regional nodal failure (RNF, defined as isolated axillary, supraclavicular, or internal mammary recurrence), and @entity3 ( @entity3 ). RESULTS: One hundred twenty-two @entity1 (33%) had ECE and 246 @entity1 did not. The median number of @entity1600 with ECE was 1 (range 1-10) and 20% of @entity1 had ECE in > or =4 @entity1600 . @entity1 with ECE tended to be older (median age 51 vs. 47, p = 0.01), and had a higher number of involved @entity1600 (median 3 vs. 2, p = 0.005) than @entity1 without ECE. Forty-three percent of @entity1 with ECE had > or =4 involved @entity1600 compared to 15% of @entity1 without ECE (p<0.0001). Models of ECE and the above factors revealed no significant correlation between ECE and either disease-free or overall survival. There was no statistically significant increase in local, regional nodal, or distant failures in @entity1 with ECE as compared to @entity1 without ECE. CONCLUSION: In this population of @entity1 with nodal involvement, the presence of ECE correlates with the number of involved @entity1600 but does not appear to add predictive power to models of local, regional, or distant recurrence when the number of positive @entity1600 is included.

The significance of extracapsular extension of axillary lymph node XXXX in @entity0 .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients', 'patient'] @entity0 :: ('MESH:D001943', 'Disease') :: ['breast carcinoma', 'breast cancer'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor'] @entity1600 :: ('MESH:D014388', 'Disease') :: ['LN', 'lymph nodes'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastases', 'DM', 'distant metastases']
@entity3 :: (MESH:D009362,Disease) :: ['metastases']
