Pathological prognostic factors in breast cancer.

Background Although numerous studies have shown that the status of the sentinel node is an accurate predictor of the status of the axillary nodes in breast cancer, the efficacy and safety of sentinel-node biopsy require validation. Methods From March 1998 to December 1999, we randomly assigned 516 patients with primary breast cancer in whom the tumor was less than or equal to 2 cm in diameter either to sentinel-node biopsy and total axillary dissection (the axillary-dissection group) or to sentinel-node biopsy followed by axillary dissection only if the sentinel node contained metastases (the sentinel-node group). Results The number of sentinel nodes found was the same in the two groups. A sentinel node was positive in 83 of the 257 patients in the axillary-dissection group (32.3 percent), and in 92 of the 259 patients in the sentinel-node group (35.5 percent). In the axillary-dissection group, the overall accuracy of the sentinel-node status was 96.9 percent, the sensitivity 91.2 percent, and the specifi...

A randomized comparison of sentinel-node biopsy with routine axillary dissection in breast cancer.

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(97)01004-0.pdf

Sentinel-node biopsy to avoid axillary dissection in breast cancer with clinically negative lymph-nodes.

A randomized comparison of sentinel-node biopsy with routine axillary dissection in breast cancer

Purpose To develop a guideline for the use of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in early stage breast cancer.

/pdf/american-society-of-clinical-oncology-guideline-4gxe1ksq70.pdf

American Society of Clinical Oncology Guideline Recommendations for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Objective. —To identify the sentinel lymph node(s) (SLN[s]) (the first node[s] draining the primary tumor in the regional lymphatic basin) in patients with invasive breast cancer and to test the hypothesis that the histologic characteristics of the SLN predict the histologic characteristics of the remaining lymph nodes in the axilla. Design. —A prospective trial. Participants. —Sixty-two patients with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancers. Intervention. —Patients underwent intraoperative lymphatic mapping using a combination of a vital blue dye and filtered technetium-labeled sulfur colloid. The SLN was identified and removed, followed by a definitive cancer operation, including a complete axillary node dissection. Main Outcome Measure. —The metastatic distribution in the axilla was determined in patients with occult nodal disease. Results. —The SLN was successfully identified in 57 (92%) of 62 patients using the 2 lymphatic mapping procedures. After localization, 18 patients (32%) were found to have metastatic disease, and the SLN tested positive in all 18 patients. There were no "skip" metastases, defined as an SLN that tested negative with higher nodes that tested positive. In 12 (67%) of 18 patients with metastatic disease, the SLN was the only site of disease. The metastatic distribution significantly favored SLN involvement. Among subjects with discordant nodal involvement, the probability of observing the distribution of SLN involvement by chance is very small (P Conclusions. —This study confirms that lymphatic mapping is technically possible in the patient with breast cancer and that the histologic characteristics of the SLN probably reflect the histologic characteristics of the rest of the axillary lymph nodes. The procedure also allows the pathologist to focus the histologic examination on 1 or 2 nodes, potentially increasing the yield of positive dissections and the accuracy of staging.

Ludovico Balducci

Papers

Lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy in the patient with breast cancer