Sentinel lymph-node biopsy compared to axillary lymph-node dissection for axillary staging in breast cancer patients
- Resource Type
- Authors
- W. Wayand; A. Shamiyeh; P. Schrenk
- Source
- European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO). 27:378-382
- Subject
- Adult
medicine.medical_specialty
Sentinel lymph node
Breast Neoplasms
Breast cancer
Biopsy
medicine
Carcinoma
Humans
Lymph node
Aged
Neoplasm Staging
Aged, 80 and over
medicine.diagnostic_test
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
business.industry
Axillary Lymph Node Dissection
Cancer
General Medicine
Middle Aged
Sentinel node
medicine.disease
Surgery
medicine.anatomical_structure
Oncology
Lymphatic Metastasis
Axilla
Lymph Node Excision
Female
Radiology
business
- Language
- ISSN
- 0748-7983
Aims The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of sentinel lymph-node biopsy in breast cancer patients at our institution and to compare the results of sentinel node (SN) biopsy to standard axillary lymph-node dissection (ALND). Methods In a retrospective study the percentage of lymph-node positive patients and the number of micrometastases in 165 breast cancer patients following SN biopsy was compared to 195 patients who underwent ALND of level I and II without SN biopsy. The SN was identified using a combination of vital blue dye and a radiolabelled colloid. Results Patients and tumour characteristics were comparable between both groups. SN biopsy found no significant difference in the number of node positive T1 cancer patients (SN group: 31/108 (28.7%) – ALND group: 21/92 (22.8%)) and T2 tumours (SN group: 27/57 (47.4%) – ALND group: 49/103 (47.6%)) between both groups. Micrometastases were more frequently found in the SN group when compared to the ALND group (six of 70 positive nodes) ( P =0.04). Conclusion SN biopsy may be as accurate as standard axillary lymph-node dissection for the evaluation of the axillary lymph-node status in breast cancer patients.