Beyond Nodal Status: Interactions Between Molecular Subtype, Tumor Burden, and Survival in 12,225 Patients with Breast Cancer

A study analyzed data from 12,225 women with invasive breast cancer from the Shiraz Breast Cancer Registry. Researchers examined the relationship between lymph node status, molecular subtype, and tumor size. They found that 41.7% of patients had positive lymph nodes. The presence of cancer cells in lymph nodes was associated with significantly worse prognosis across all groups. The negative impact of involved lymph nodes was most pronounced in patients with larger tumors and those with HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer. Researchers developed a nomogram to predict patient survival at 3 and 5 years with accuracy of 74.9% and 75.1%, respectively. The results emphasize the importance of jointly considering lymph node status, molecular subtype, and tumor burden when determining prognosis.