The role of 99mTc-tetrofosmin Pinhole-SPECT in breast cancer axillary lymph node staging

The number of metastatic axillary nodes represents one of the most important prognostic factors in preoperative breast cancer patients. 99mTc-Tetrofosmin high resolution Pinhole (P)-SPECT was employed in 112 patients, 100 with breast cancer and 12 with benign mammary lesions, to ascertain axillary lymph node involvement. Axillary P-SPECT images were acquired utilizing specific software connected to a circular high resolution, single-head gamma camera equipped with a pinhole collimator with aperture size of 4.45 mm, rotating 180 degrees around the involved axilla. At the same time, patients also underwent conventional SPECT and planar acquisitions. Per-patient sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 93.6% for P-SPECT, 96.2% and 93.6% for SPECT and 56.6% and 100% for planar imaging, respectively. Moreover, P-SPECT detected more than 51% of lesions ascertained by histology, whereas SPECT and planar detected 32.6% and 20.3%, respectively. Only P-SPECT succeeded in identifying the exact number of metastatic axillary lesions in patients with multiple nodes; this procedure was able to correctly differentiate 88.67% of patients with 3 or less nodes from those with more than 3, thus giving important prognostic information. These data suggest 99mTc-Tetrofosmin P-SPECT is a reliable imaging method both for staging and prognostic purposes in breast cancer, and its routine use is recommended.     

Sentinel Node Biopsy in Early Breast Cancer Patients with Palpable Axillary Node

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a reliable method for evaluation of the axillary lymph node status in early stage breast cancer patients with non-palpable lymph nodes. The present study evaluated the status of sentinel and non-sentinel lymph nodes in T1T2 patients with palpable axillary lymph nodes. Materials and Methods: One hundred and two women with early breast cancer were investigated in this study. Patients were selected for axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy and then surgery .Then the rates of false negative and true positive, and diagnostic accuracy of sentinel lymph nodes biopsy were evaluated. In addition, the hormone receptors status of the tumor was determined through IHC and data was analyzed in SPSS21. Results: In this study, the mean age of the patients was 49 years, 85% had invasive ductal carcinoma  in their pathology reports, 77% were ER/PR positive, 30% HER2 positive and 9.8% triple negative and 69% had KI67<14%. In frozen pathology, 15.7 and 84.3% were sentinel positive and negative, respectively, and in the final pathology, 41 and 58.8% were sentinel positive and negative, respectively. This difference arises from the false negative rate of the frozen pathology, which was about 31.3%. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the frozen section were 24, 90 and 43%, respectively. Lymphovascular invasion is an important effective factor in the involvement of sentinel and non-sentinel lymph nodes. Statistical analysis showed that the probability of sentinel and non-sentinel lymph nodes involvement was higher in receptor positive patients and those with KI67>14% (p<0.002) whereas the rate of involvement was lower in triple negative patients. Conclusion: Sentinel node biopsy can be used in a significant percentage of breast cancer patients with palpable and reactive axillary lymph nodes.     

乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检术前临床可疑腋淋巴结超声引导针吸细胞学检测的临床意义

目的：评估腋淋巴结可疑阳性的乳腺癌患者,在前哨淋巴结活检术前行超声引导腋淋巴结针吸细胞学检测的临床意义。方法：回顾性分析了257 例超声提示腋淋巴结异常或腋淋巴结临床查体可触及的原发性乳腺癌患者的腋淋巴结针吸细胞学检测结果及常规病理结果。结果：超声引导腋淋巴结针吸细胞学检测乳腺癌可疑腋淋巴结的敏感性、特异性、准确性、阳性预测值和阴性预测值分别为76.3% 、100% 、80.9% 、100% 和50.5% 。76.3% 的患者通过针吸细胞学检测准确地预测了腋淋巴结转移,避免了接受前哨淋巴结活检术。50.5% 的超声提示腋淋巴结异常但针吸细胞学阴性的患者可接受前哨淋巴结活检术替代腋淋巴结清扫术。结论：超声引导腋淋巴结穿刺针吸细胞学检测可快速、较为准确地判定乳腺癌患者腋淋巴结的状况,应该作为前哨淋巴结活检术前的筛查手段。     

The usefulness of 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT scintimammography in the detection of small size primary breast carcinomas

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of supine 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT in the detection of small size breast carcinomas (BC), for which planar scintimammography has showed a low sensitivity. We studied 93 patients with breast lesions 相似文献   

Usefulness of 99mTc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy in different variants of Kaposi's sarcoma

We investigated (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy in 27 patients with Kaposi's sarcoma: 20 had classic (CK), 5 AIDS-associated (AK) and 2 transplantation-associated (TK) variants. Twenty-three patients had clinically evident cutaneous and/or mucosal lesions, 9 of them with associated sarcomatous lymphadenopathy; 2 TK patients had only lymph nodes or other extracutaneous Kaposi sites. Both planar and SPECT (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin scintigraphies were performed in all cases and neck pinhole (P)-SPECT in selected patients. (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin uptake was observed in 88% of patients with clinically evident cutaneous and/or extracutaneous Kaposi lesions. Scintigraphy gave additional information on cutaneous lesion extent, particularly SPECT regarding deep invasion and subclinical sites in some cases. However, scintigraphy was less sensitive in the detection of small, isolated and scattered lesions. SPECT/P-SPECT were positive in 8/8 patients with sarcomatous lymph nodes, planar imaging in 5/8, ultrasonography in 7/8, while all procedures were negative in 6 other patients with reactive or HIV infection lymph nodes. SPECT demonstrated lymphadenopathy remission in 1 TK patient after immunosuppressive therapy modification and, like planar imaging, ascertained an associated lymphoma with (67)Ga-citrate combined. (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy, especially SPECT, can be useful both in the detection and staging of Kaposi sarcoma lesions as a complementary tool to clinical and other conventional diagnostic methods.     

Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

A sentinel node biopsy (SNB) has been proved to be an accurate method to estimate the axillary lymph node status as a replacement for axillary lymph node dissection (AxLND) in patients with early breast cancer who have not been treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). We examined the feasibility and accuracy of performing SNB after NAC. Seventy breast cancer patients treated with NAC were enrolled in the current study during the period between March 2001 and June 2005. NAC performed preoperatively consisted of three to four times of CAF chemotherapy. Moreover, intra-arterial (subclavian artery and internal mammary artery) infusion of epirubicin and 5-fluorouracil was performed in addition to systemic CAF chemotherapy once to three times in patients with large breast tumors or bulky axillary lymph node metastases. The sentinel nodes were successfully identified in 63 out of 70 patients (identification rate: 90%). The mean number of sentinel nodes removed per patient was 1.5 (range 1-6). Of the 43 patients in whom AxLND was performed after the sentinel nodes were identified, 19 (44.2%) had positive sentinel nodes. In 8 of those 19 patients, the sentinel node was the only cancer positive lymph node. Among the 24 patients who had negative sentinel nodes it was found that one patient had a confirmed false negative result, thus yielding a false negative rate of 5%, and a sensitivity of 95%. There was no false negative patient who had a clinically negative lymph node status (N0) before NAC (17 patients), whereas the false negative rate was 6.3% in the subgroup of patients with a clinically positive lymph node status (N1, N2) before NAC (26 patients). As a result, SNB after NAC is thus considered to be able to effectively predict the axillary lymph node status in patients with a clinically negative lymph node status before NAC.     

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients. A preoperative staging procedure

Currently, axillary lymph node dissection is increasingly being replaced by the sentinel node procedure. This method is time-consuming and the full immunohistochemical evaluation is usually only first known postoperatively. This study was designed to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative ultrasound-guided fine needle aspirations (FNAs) for the detection of non-palpable lymph node metastases in primary breast cancer patients. We evaluated the material of 183 ultrasound-guided FNAs of non-palpable axillary lymph nodes of primary breast cancer patients. The cytological results were compared with the final histological diagnosis. Ultrasound-guided FNA detected metastases in 44% (37/85) of histologically node-positive patients, in 20% of the total patient population studied. These pecentages are likely to be higher when women with palpable nodes are included. Cytologically false-negative and false-positive nodes were seen in 28 (15%) and three cases (1.6%), respectively. Interestingly 25% (n=7) of the false-negative nodes, revealed micrometastases on postoperative histology. The sensitivity was 57%, the specificity 96%. We conclude that ultrasound-guided FNA of the axillary lymph nodes is an effective procedure that should be included in the preoperative staging of all primary breast cancer patients. Whether lymph nodes are palpable or not, it will save considerable operating time by selecting those who need a complete axillary lymph node dissection at primary surgery and would save a significant number of sentinel lymph node dissections (SLNDs).     

Intraoperative examination of axillary sentinel lymph nodes in breast carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Routine histologic examination of axillary sentinel lymph nodes predicts axillary lymph node status and may spare patients with breast carcinoma axillary lymph node dissection. To avoid the need for two separate surgical sessions, the results of sentinel lymph node examination should be available intraoperatively. However, routine frozen-section examination of sentinel lymph nodes is liable to yield false-negative results. This study was conducted to ascertain whether extensive intraoperative examination of sentinel lymph nodes by frozen section examination would attain a sensitivity comparable to that obtained by routine histologic examination without intraoperative frozen section examination. METHODS: In a consecutive series of 155 clinically lymph node negative breast carcinoma patients, the axillary sentinel lymph nodes were examined intraoperatively, before complete axillary lymph node dissection. The frozen sentinel lymph nodes were sectioned subserially at 50-microm intervals. For each level, one section was stained with hematoxylin and eosin and the other section immunostained for cytokeratins using a rapid immunocytochemical assay. RESULTS: Sentinel lymph node metastases were detected in 70 of the 155 patients (45%). In 37 cases the sentinel lymph nodes were the only axillary lymph nodes with metastases. Immunocytochemistry did not increase the sensitivity of the examination. Five patients had metastases in the nonsentinel axillary lymph nodes despite having negative sentinel lymph nodes. The general concordance between sentinel and axillary lymph node status was 96.7%; the negative predictive value of intraoperative sentinel lymph node examination was 94.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The intraoperative examination of axillary sentinel lymph nodes is effective in predicting the axillary lymph node status of breast carcinoma patients and may be instrumental in deciding whether to spare patients axillary lymph node dissection.     

Detection of infraclavicular lymph node metastases using ultrasonography in breast cancer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: As infraclavicular lymph node metastases is one of the parameters of stage III-C, the diagnostic techniques aiming to identify the metastases of this region have gained importance recently. In this study, we investigated the presence of axillary and infraclavicular lymph node metastases with ultrasonography. METHODS: Axillary and infraclavicular lymph nodes were evaluated by preoperative ultrasonography in 100 consecutive breast cancer patients. Median age was 47 (23-76) years. RESULTS: Ultrasonography identified lymph nodes correlating with metastases in the infraclavicular region in 20 patients. In 19 of these patients, metastases were verified in the lymph nodes with histopathologic examination (false positivity rate 5%). Of the 80 patients who were not considered as having metastases by ultrasonography, 59 had no metastatic lymph nodes on histological examination. The specificity of ultrasonography in the identification of metastatic lymph nodes in the infraclavicular region was 98.3%, with a sensitivity of 47.5%, positive predictive value of 95%, negative predictive value of 73.7%, and overall accuracy of 78%. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who were identified to have infraclavicular lymph node metastases by preoperative ultrasonographic examination should have a relevant treatment plan as they are classified as locally advanced, stage III-C disease.     

The impact of axillary lymphadenopathy on further treatment in Breast Cancer? A model for clinical staging

Clinical assessment is an important part of the breast cancer patients’ work-up, but it has low sensitivity and specificity. In a retrospective study, his-tological slides of axillary clearance specimens were used to model palpability of the axillary lymph nodes. Obvious nodes (enlarged and involving considerable amount of lymphatic and/or metastatic tissue) and nodes equal to or larger than 1 cm or 1.5 cm were counted and the slides were subsequently reviewed. The false positive and negative rates expected on the basis of the model ranged from 24 to 72% and from 10 to 38%, respectively. This model (also valid for intraoperative assessment of nodal status by palpation) documents the lack of specificity of clinical staging of the axilla. These results question the practice of excluding patients with palpable axillary lymph node enlargement from less radical staging procedures such as axillary sampling or sentinel node biopsy     

Transferring innovative freehand SPECT to the operating room: First experiences with sentinel lymph node biopsy in malignant melanoma

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to report on the first experiences with freehand single-photon emission-computed tomography (freehand SPECT) in sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with malignant melanoma. Freehand SPECT is a novel imaging modality combining gamma probes, surgical navigation systems, and emission tomography algorithms, designed to overcome some of the limitations of conventional gamma probes.

Methods

In this study 20 patients with malignant melanoma underwent conventional planar scintigraphy prior to surgery. In the operating room, the number and location of separable SLNs were detected first by a pre-incisional scan with freehand SPECT to render a 3D-image of the target site and afterwards by a scan with a conventional gamma probe. After SLNB another scan was performed to document the removal of all targeted SLNs.

Results

Planar scintigraphy identified 40 SLNs in 26 nodal basins. Pre-incisional freehand SPECT mapped 38 of these nodes as well as one additional node in one patient (95.0% node based sensitivity). The results of freehand SPECT were identical to those of planar scintigraphy in 25 basins, while it missed one basin (96.2% basin based sensitivity). In comparison, the gamma probe failed to detect 7 nodes in 4 basins (82.5% node based sensitivity and 84.6% basin based sensitivity). After resection freehand SPECT detected 9 remaining radioactive spots, two of whichwere resected as they matched the position of SLNs detected on preoperative planar scintigraphy.

Conclusions

Freehand SPECT provides a real-time, intraoperative 3D-image of the radioactive labelled SLNs, facilitating their detection and resection.     

SPECT/CT显像、常规超声及钼靶成像对乳腺癌腋窝淋巴结转移的诊断效能分析

目的:评价SPECT/CT显像、常规超声及钼靶成像对乳腺癌腋窝淋巴结转移的诊断效能。方法:回顾性分析我院2013年03月至2016年11月期间收治的42例乳腺癌患者的99Tcm-SPECT/CT显像、常规超声及钼靶成像结果,以术后病理结果为标准,评价各种显像诊断方法的灵敏度、特异度、准确度及一致性。结果:SPECT/CT显像诊断乳腺癌腋窝淋巴结灵敏度、准确度（88.5%、81.0%）明显优于常规超声（50.0%、59.5%）及钼靶成像（26.9%、45.2%）。特异度三种方法无显著性差异;SPECT/CT显像结果与病理检验结果一致性分析（Kappa=0.59）优于常规超声（Kappa=0.25）及钼靶成像（Kappa=0.13）。SPECT/CT显像发现腋窝淋巴结转移阳性率（66.7%）,显著高于钼靶成像（26.2%）及常规超声成像（40.5%）,二者均有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。ROC曲线分析SPECT/CT显像靶病灶与本底放射性计数比值截断值为3.55,对应的灵敏度、特异度、准确度为81%、94%、86%。结论:SPECT/CT显像在术前诊断乳腺癌腋窝淋巴结转移方面具有较好的诊断价值,与病理诊断有较好的一致性。     

A comparative study on the value of FDG-PET and sentinel node biopsy to identify occult axillary metastases.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) has become a standard treatment in staging axillary lymph nodes in early breast cancer. SNB, however, is an invasive procedure and is time-consuming when the sentinel node is analysed intra-operatively. Breast cancer is frequently characterised by increased 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake and many studies have shown encouraging results in detecting axillary lymph node metastases. The aim of this study was to compare SNB and -positron emission tomography (-PET) imaging, to assess their values in detecting occult axillary metastases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 236 patients with breast cancer and clinically negative axilla were enrolled in the study. 18-FDG-PET was carried out before surgery, using a positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography scanner. In all patients, SNB was carried out after identification through lymphoscintigraphy. Patients underwent axillary lymph nodes dissection (ALND) in cases of positive FDG-PET or positive SNB. The results of PET scan were compared with histopathology of SNB and ALND. RESULTS: In all, 103 out of the 236 patients (44%) had metastases in axillary nodes. Sensitivity of FDG-PET scan for detection of axillary lymph node metastases in this series was low (37%); however, specificity and positive predictive values were acceptable (96% and 88%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The high specificity of PET imaging indicates that patients who have a PET-positive axilla should have an ALND rather than an SNB for axillary staging. In contrast, FDG-PET showed poor sensitivity in the detection of axillary metastases, confirming the need for SNB in cases where PET is negative in the axilla.     

Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer: the experience of Brescia Civic Hospital

The accuracy of the sentinel node technique in the evaluation of axillary node involvement in breast cancer was evaluated in 83 consecutive patients with monofocal T1-2 carcinoma, who were clinically N0 and who underwent lymphoscintigraphy with 99mTc-colloid integrated with intraoperative sentinel node detection by a portable probe. Lymphoscintigraphy revealed at least one sentinel node in 75 patients (90.4%), always identified by the probe. In eight patients (9.6%) the sentinel node was detected neither by lymphoscintigraphy nor by the probe. All removed lymph nodes were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin histology and the sentinel node by immunostaining. In 28/75 patients (37.3%) at least one metastatic axillary lymph node was detected; in 16 of the 28 N+ subjects (57%) only the sentinel node was positive. The false negative rate (sentinel node negative/other axillary lymph nodes positive) was 17.85% (5/28 patients). In 9/23 patients (39%) micrometastases were found in the sentinel node only. In conclusion, specific sentinel node positivity in 57% of cases supports the validity of the sentinel node concept. Moreover, nine patients would have been considered N0 by standard hematoxylin-eosin histology without sentinel node-aided immunostaining. A 17.8% false negative rate calls for caution in patients with negative sentinel nodes.     

Accuracy of fine‐needle aspiration cytology of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of axillary lymph nodes is a simple, minimally invasive technique that can be used to improve preoperative determination of the status of the axillary lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer, thereby serving as a tool with which to triage patients for sentinel versus full lymph node dissection procedures. The aim of the current study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of FNA cytology to detect metastatic breast carcinoma in axillary lymph nodes.

METHODS

A total of 115 FNAs of axillary lymph nodes of breast cancer patients with histologic follow‐up (subsequent sentinel or full lymph node dissection) were included in the current study. The specificity and sensitivity, as well as the positive and negative predictive values, were calculated.

RESULTS

The positive and negative predictive values of FNA cytology of axillary lymph nodes for metastatic breast carcinoma were 1.00 and 0.60, respectively. The overall sensitivity of axillary lymph node FNA in all the cases studied was 65% and the specificity was 100%. The sensitivity of FNA was lower in the sentinel lymph node group than in the full lymph node dissection group (16% vs 88%, respectively), which was believed to be attributable to the small size of the metastatic foci in the sentinel lymph node group (median, 0.25 cm). All false‐negative FNAs, with the exception of 1 case, were believed to be the result of sampling error. There was no ‘true’ false‐positive FNA case in the current study.

CONCLUSIONS

FNA of axillary lymph nodes is a sensitive and very specific method with which to detect metastasis in breast cancer patients. Because of its excellent positive predictive value, full axillary lymph node dissection can be planned safely instead of a sentinel lymph node dissection when a preoperative positive FNA result is rendered. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2008. © American Cancer Society.     

Dye-Guided Sentinel Node Biopsy Revisited; Validation and Observational Study from a Single Institute

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of indigocarmine dye-guided sentinel node biopsy and to apply this method to avoid further axillary node dissection in sentinel node negative cases. METHODS: Sixty consecutive clinically node-negative breast cancer patients underwent sentinel node biopsy using 0.5% indigocarmine followed by standard axillary node dissection. Sentinel node biopsy was then applied to 42 clinically node-negative patients to avoid axillary node dissection with intraoperative diagnosis made by frozen section. RESULTS: Validation study: Sentinel nodes were successfully detected in all 60 patients. The mean number of harvested nodes was 1.7 (range 1-3). Sentinel nodes were positive in all 20 axillary node-positive patients, and therefore the false negative rate was 0% (0/20). Only sentinel nodes contained metastases in 55% (11/20) of node positive patients. Observational study: Sentinel nodes were successfully detected in all 42 patients. The mean number of harvested nodes was 1.6 (range 1-3). Sentinel nodes were positive in 12 patients by final histology, and there was one false negative case by frozen section (8%, 1/12). Only sentinel nodes contained metastases in 55% (6/11) of node positive patients. The detection rate, mean number of harvested sentinel nodes and proportion of node positive patients were similar between the validation and observational studies. CONCLUSIONS: Indigocarmine dye-guided sentinel node biopsy was feasible and accurate. This method can be applied to observational studies after successful validation.     

Role of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of indeterminate and suspicious axillary lymph nodes in the initial staging of breast carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound (US) is more sensitive than physical examination alone in determining axillary lymph node involvement during preliminary staging of breast carcinoma. Due to occasional overlap of sonographic features of benign and indeterminate lymph nodes, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of sonographically indeterminate/suspicious lymph nodes can provide a more definitive diagnosis than US alone. This study was undertaken to determine the diagnostic accuracy of US-guided FNA of indeterminate/suspicious/metastatic-appearing axillary lymph nodes during the initial staging of breast carcinoma. METHODS: The cytology of 103 cases of US-guided FNA of nonpalpable indeterminate/suspicious/metastatic-appearing lymph nodes was compared with the final histopathologic status of the entire axilla after axillary dissection. The final axillary lymph node status was categorized as either negative when all lymph nodes were negative for metastasis or positive when there was evidence of metastasis in one or more lymph nodes. The sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy, and false-negative rate of US-guided FNA of nonpalpable axillary lymph nodes in the preliminary staging process were calculated. RESULTS: In 51 of 103 cases (49.5%), the US-guided FNA and histopathology were both positive for metastasis. In 24 of 103 cases (23.3%), both were negative. The apparent false-positive FNA in 16 (15.5%) cases was explained by the complete response of the metastatic lymph nodes to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the interval between FNA and axillary dissection. In 12 cases (11.6%), US-guided FNA was negative, but metastasis was seen in histologic sections. All cases with three or more lymph nodes with metastatic disease and 93% of those with metastatic deposit measuring more than 0.5 mm were detected by US-guided FNA. The probability of detecting lymph nodes with smaller metastatic deposit measuring less than 0.5 cm was 44%. The overall sensitivity of US-guided FNA was 86.4%, the specificity was 100%, the diagnostic accuracy was 79.0%, the positive predictive value was 100%, and the negative predictive value was 67%. CONCLUSIONS: US-guided FNA of nonpalpable indeterminate and suspicious axillary lymph nodes is a simple, minimally invasive, and reliable technique for the initial determination of axillary lymph node status in breast carcinoma. The common causes of discrepancy between the initial and final axillary lymph node status include failure to visualize all lymph nodes during US examination, small-sized metastases, and preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy.     

Immunolymphoscintigraphy for the detection of lymph node metastases from breast cancer

The presence of metastases in the regional lymph nodes is the major prognostic factor in breast cancer in the absence of overt distant metastases and is also an important indicator of the need for adjuvant therapy in "early" breast cancer. Currently, the accurate assessment of axillary lymph node status requires axillary dissection which has an associated morbidity. An alternative method of identifying patients who are "node positive" has been developed by means of immunolymphoscintigraphy with s.c. administered radioiodinated monoclonal antibody. The 131I-labeled anti-breast cancer antibody (RCC-1; 400 micrograms) and cold iodine-labeled "blocking" antibody (Ly-2.1; 2 mg which is nonreactive with breast cancer) were injected s.c. into both arms and scintigraphy images were obtained 16-18 h after the injection, using the axilla contralateral to the side of the breast cancer as the control. Studies were reported as positive (and therefore indicative of lymph node metastases) if the amount of background-subtracted radioactive count in the axilla of interest exceeded the normal side by a radio equal to or greater than 1.5:1.0 as assessed by computer analysis. In 38 of 40 patients the findings on scintigraphy were correlated with operative and histopathological findings on the axillary dissection specimen or cytological findings of fine needle aspiration of axillary lymph nodes. In a prospective study of 26 patients, the method is more sensitive (86%) and specific (92%) than preoperative clinical assessment (57% sensitivity, 58% specificity) in the detection of axillary lymph node metastases; and by combining both modalities of assessment, there was an improvement in the sensitivity (100%) but a deterioration in the specificity (50%). There was no significant complication from this essentially outpatient procedure and only 1 of 40 patients developed a human anti-mouse antibody response. This novel and safe method of imaging may become a most useful adjunct in the surgical management of breast cancer.     

Accuracy of fine-needle aspiration cytology of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients: a study of 115 cases with cytologic-histologic correlation

BACKGROUND: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of axillary lymph nodes is a simple, minimally invasive technique that can be used to improve preoperative determination of the status of the axillary lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer, thereby serving as a tool with which to triage patients for sentinel versus full lymph node dissection procedures. The aim of the current study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of FNA cytology to detect metastatic breast carcinoma in axillary lymph nodes. METHODS: A total of 115 FNAs of axillary lymph nodes of breast cancer patients with histologic follow-up (subsequent sentinel or full lymph node dissection) were included in the current study. The specificity and sensitivity, as well as the positive and negative predictive values, were calculated. RESULTS: The positive and negative predictive values of FNA cytology of axillary lymph nodes for metastatic breast carcinoma were 1.00 and 0.60, respectively. The overall sensitivity of axillary lymph node FNA in all the cases studied was 65% and the specificity was 100%. The sensitivity of FNA was lower in the sentinel lymph node group than in the full lymph node dissection group (16% vs 88%, respectively), which was believed to be attributable to the small size of the metastatic foci in the sentinel lymph node group (median, 0.25 cm). All false-negative FNAs, with the exception of 1 case, were believed to be the result of sampling error. There was no 'true' false-positive FNA case in the current study. CONCLUSIONS: FNA of axillary lymph nodes is a sensitive and very specific method with which to detect metastasis in breast cancer patients. Because of its excellent positive predictive value, full axillary lymph node dissection can be planned safely instead of a sentinel lymph node dissection when a preoperative positive FNA result is rendered. .     

乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检的临床意义(附30例报告)

目的　探讨开展乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检 (sentinellymphnodebiopsy ,SLNB)的必要性、可行性、准确性及临床应用价值。方法　术前在乳腺肿瘤下方注射 37MBq放射性胶体99mTc DX ,同时运用核素淋巴显像和γ计数器探测仪探测两种检测方法 ,识别出放射性同位素浓聚的前哨淋巴结(sentinellymphnode ,SLN) ,并用皮肤墨水在相应的皮肤上做出标记。术中根据体表标记切除SLN ,后行腋窝淋巴结解剖 (axilarylymphnodedissection ,ALND) ,两标本同时送病理检查 ,了解其符合率 ,并评价SLNB的可行性。结果　 30例均进行了SLN识别定位 ,活检后经病理检查有 2例错误。 1例未取到SLN ,故SLN的检出率为 96 .7% ;1例SLN病理呈假阴性。按目前国外SLNB的评价标准 ,本组SLNB的敏感度为 88.9% ,准确性为 93.3% ,假阳性率为 0 ,假阴性率为 11.1%。结论　乳腺癌SLNB目前在国内外仍处于研究阶段 ,随着研究的扩大与深入将可能取代常规的ALND。