Abstract
Background
The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the usefulness of dye-guided sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patients with clinically negative nodes and to clarify the anatomic distribution of sentinel nodes in the axilla.
Methods
Sentinel node biopsy was performed in patients with T1 or T2 breast cancer who had clinically negative nodes, using an indocyanin green dye-guided method. Thereafter, complete axillary dissection was performed. Sentinel node and complete axillary lymph-node dissection specimens were examined separately, and the incidence of metastases was compared.
Results
We identified sentinel nodes in 115 (76.7%) of 150 patients with clinically negative nodes. The mean number of sentinel nodes was 1.7 (range, one to eight nodes). The mean size of sentinel nodes was 9.0 mm (range, 2.0 to 28.0 mm). Of the 31 patients who had a tumor-positive sentinel node, 14 (45.2%) patients had only the sentinel node involved. There was concordance on histological examination between sentinel node and axillary node status in 111 (96.5%) of 115 cases. Of the sentinel nodes 89.1% were located cranially to the intercostobrachial nerve and within 2 cm of the lateral edge of the pectoralis minor muscle.
Conclusions
Sentinel node biopsy guided by indocyanin green dye is an easy technique with an acceptable detection rate of sentinel nodes for breast cancer patients with clinically negative nodes. Most of the sentinel nodes were located near the lateral edge of the pectoralis minor muscle and cranial to the intercostobrachial nerve.
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Abbreviations
- ALND:
-
Axillary lymph-node dissection
- SNB:
-
Sentinel node biopsy
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Motomura, K., Inaji, H., Komoike, Y. et al. Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patients with clinically negative lymph-nodes. Breast Cancer 6, 259–262 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02967180
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02967180