The Value of Nomograms in Pre-Operative Prediction of Lymphovascular Invasion in Primary Breast Cancer Undergoing Modified Radical Surgery: Based on Multiparametric Ultrasound and Clinicopathologic Indicators

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the value of pre-operative prediction of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in primary breast cancer patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy and to develop a nomogram based on multiparametric ultrasound and clinicopathologic indicators. All patients with primary breast cancer confirmed by pre-operative biopsy underwent B-mode ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound examinations. Post-operative pathology was used as the gold standard to identify LVI. Lasso regression was used to select predictors most related to LVI. A nomogram was developed to calculate the diagnostic efficacy. We bootstrapped the data for 500 times to perform internal verification, drawing a calibration curve to verify prediction ability. A total of 244 primary breast cancer patients were included. LVI was observed in 77 patients. Ten predictors associated with LVI were selected by Lasso regression. The area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the nomogram were 0.918, 92.2%, 76.7% and 81.6%, respectively. And the nomogram calibration curve showed good consistency between the predicted probability and the actual probability. The nomogram developed could be used to predict LVI in primary breast cancer patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy and to help in clinical decision-making.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Lymphovascular invasion; Nomogram; Ultrasonography.