BACKGROUND: Evaluating the size of @entity0 for staging purposes is problematic. Historically, the largest @entity5 focus in isolation has been used to stage @entity66 and determine optimum adjuvant therapy. This study compared multifocal and unifocal @entity0 to determine if @entity0 presents at a higher stage. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a retrospective review of a prospectively collected database of 328 @entity1 who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy over a 7-year period. Clinical presentation and histopathologic features of @entity0 were compared with those of unifocal disease. RESULTS: Fifty-three (16%) @entity1 presented with @entity66 . Higher @entity5 grade was observed in the multifocal @entity5 compared with unifocal @entity5 (34% versus 20% grade III @entity5 , multifocal versus unifocal disease; p=0.03). Use of combined @entity5 focus diameter upstaged (pT status) 18 (34%) @entity1 with multifocal @entity5 . There was no difference in nodal positivity based on pT status between largest and combined diameter @entity66 . CONCLUSIONS: Combined @entity5 diameter in @entity0 does not correspond with an @entity101 and should not be used for staging purposes.

The accuracy of combined versus largest diameter in staging XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity101 :: ('MESH:D006973', 'Disease') :: ['increase in sentinel node positivity'] @entity0 :: ('MESH:D001943', 'Disease') :: ['multifocal breast cancer', 'breast cancer'] @entity66 :: ('MESH:D004194', 'Disease') :: ['multifocal disease'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor', 'tumors']
@entity0 :: (MESH:D001943,Disease) :: ['multifocal breast cancer']
