Differentiating lymphovascular invasion from retraction artifact on histological specimen of breast carcinoma and their implications on prognosis

Nicholas George Zaorsky, Ninad Patil, Gary Mitchel Freedman, Madalina Tuluc

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

On a pathological specimen of breast cancer cells, retraction artifact during histological processing mimics true lymphovascular invasion (LVI). The accurate determination of the presence or absence of LVI is a factor in determining risk of having a positive sentinel node, or having additional positive axillary nodes after a positive sentinel node biopsy in women with early-stage breast cancer. The determination of nodal risk influences the decision of the treating physicians as to whether a sentinel node biopsy or completion axillary dissection is necessary. On slide preparation, ideal factors favoring true LVI include: a definite endothelial lining, with endothelial nuclei that seem to protrude into the lymphatic space; invasion in one lymphatic vessel (LV) lumen with nearby cancer glands that have minimal or no retraction; a tumor embolus in a LV clear lumen with outside nearby tumor bulk; a tumor embolus that is different in shape than its surrounding clear LV space; and a positive stain for fibrin, CD31, or CD34 on tumor embolus periphery.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)478-480
Number of pages3
JournalJournal of Breast Cancer
Volume15
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Differentiating lymphovascular invasion from retraction artifact on histological specimen of breast carcinoma and their implications on prognosis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this