Efferent vascular invasion and the mean nuclear area of axillary nodal tumour cells in breast cancer.

The presence of tumour cells of high mean nuclear area (MNA) in axillary nodal metastases from breast carcinoma is shown to be related to the finding of tumour cells in the efferent nodal vessels. In cases without efferent vascular invasion (EVI) the MNA was on average lower. EVI positivity combined with a high MNA is associated with a poor prognosis. However, a subgroup was identified, i.e. the MNA 1, with the smallest nuclei, in which prognosis approached that in the EVI negative. In the latter the differences related to MNA groups were not statistically significant.