BACKGROUND: Axillary lymph node status is one of the most powerful prognostic indicators in @entity1 with @entity0 and has implications for adjuvant treatment. It has been demonstrated that enhanced histologic evaluation of axillary lymph nodes, including serial sectioning of paraffin tissue blocks and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, increases the rate of detection of occult @entity3 . The clinical significance of occult lymph node @entity3 has been the subject of debate. METHODS: In the current study, the authors identified 267 @entity1 who underwent axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) between 1987 and 1995 and were lymph node negative according to a routine pathologic evaluation, which included the complete submission of all lymph nodes and an examination of 1 @entity1710 and @entity1711 (H_E)-stained section per paraffin block. @entity1 did not receive systemic chemotherapy or hormone therapy. All of the dissected lymph nodes from these @entity1 were re-evaluated by intensified pathologic methods (serial sectioning with H_E levels plus IHC). Occult @entity3 were categorized by detection method and size. The clinical significance of the occult @entity3 was determined. RESULTS: Thirty-nine @entity1 (15%) who had lymph node-negative results on routine evaluation of their ALND specimens had occult @entity3 identified. Eight of these @entity1 (20%) had macrometastases >2.0 mm, 15 (40%) had micrometastases (range, >0.2 mm to  <=2 mm), and 16 (40%) had @entity5 cells ( <=0.2 mm). The presence of occult @entity3 and the size of @entity3 did not affect recurrence-free or overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of occult metastasis did not have clinical significance in this cohort of @entity1 with early stage @entity0 .

Occult axillary lymph node @entity3 do not have prognostic significance in early stage XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients'] @entity0 :: ('MESH:D001943', 'Disease') :: ['breast cancer'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['isolated tumor'] @entity1711 :: ('MESH:D004801', 'Chemical') :: ['eosin'] @entity1710 :: ('MESH:D006416', 'Chemical') :: ['hematoxylin'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastases']
@entity0 :: (MESH:D001943,Disease) :: ['breast cancer']
