Question about LVI

kathabus

Hi--It seems that if you have a positive lymph node you would have Lymphovascular Invasion (LVI). Is that correct?

I don't see anything on my pathology report about LVI, but when I read about what LVI is....it doesn't seem that you could have a positive lymph node without LVI.

Thanks to anyone who might have input about this!

eviec1

I'm by no means an expert, but was reading about this recently. From what I've read, LVI means a greater likelihood of positive nodes, but you can have positive nodes without LVI. And the one thing I've learned so far from this forum, is that with BC, pretty much ANYTHING is possible. Not necessarily statistically likely, but possible.

ctmbsikia

I think it's 2 different things. From yours truly BC.ORG

Vascular or Lymphatic System Invasion | Breastcancer.org

Lymph Node Involvement | Breastcancer.org

kathabus

I appreciate all the comments.

I guess what I don't understand is this....how do they TEST for LVI? Are they looking at a blood vessel? A lymph channel? Tissue around the tumor? I'm not clear on how they determine LVI.

Everyone gets the lymph node one. They take out a sentinel node...they look at it under the microscope.....but HOW exactly is LVI determined?

I find a lot of data on the prognostic value of it, but I can't seem to find HOW they determine if you have it.

eviec1

I can't tell you the exact science of identifying it, but it was listed on the path report following my initial biopsy. So the pathologist looks for it in the biopsy sample (so I imagine tissue under a microscope?).

typhoon

kathabus - I hope I'm remembering this correctly, but my breast surgeon said that the presence of blood vessels/lymphatic channels within the margins of the bc tumor is evidence of LVI. That is, the bc is growing in and around blood vessels/lymph channels. Post-surgical pathology exams show pretty clearly whether LVI is present.

kathabus

Ok! That makes sense to me. Thank you! It was never on my radar when I was going through everything....I had other things to worry about....I have just recently been trying to figure that piece out. If I find out more details on this, I will update it here. Thank you everyone!