Prognostic significance of blood vessel invasion in carcinoma of the breast in women.

Prognostic significance of blood vessel invasion in carcinoma of the female breast has been evaluated by study of 242 cases of radical mastectomy done at the Tata Memorial Hospital. The significance of axillary node involvement with the disease has been simultaneously evaluated. In the absence of blood vessel invasion and lymph node metastasis the 5 year survival rate was 98%. Compared with this, 5 year survival rate was reduced to 59% when the blood vessel invasion was present but no lymph node metastasis. Only 12% survived for 5 years when both blood vessels and lymph nodes were involved with the disease. The study indicated that blood vessel invasion in the primary breast carcinoma is more significant than lymph node metastasis.