Molecular genetic predictors of metastatic lesions of regional lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer

Objective : to identify molecular genetic predictors of metastatic spread to regional lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer (BC) based on the analysis of gene expression profile of the primary tumor. Materials and methods . The study included 358 patients with BC who underwent surgical treatment in breast cancer department of Academician V.I. Kulakov Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia. Among all included into the study patients, 132 (36.9 %) had metastases in at least one axillary lymph node. Molecular genetic examination of the tumor tissue was carried out using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; the diagnostic panel consisted of 45 functional and 3 reference genes . Results . Patients with metastases to regional lymph nodes were generally younger (p = 0.006), had larger primary tumor (p