乳腺癌前哨淋巴结探查的研究进展

乳腺癌前哨淋巴结(sentinel lymph node, SLN)是乳腺癌淋巴转移通道中最先经历的第一级淋巴结。通过乳腺癌SLN预测乳腺癌区域淋巴结转移状况,为乳腺癌的准确分期和外科手术提供了重要的依据。根据示踪剂的不同,有两种方法可以探查乳腺癌SLN,其中使用放射性核素标记物作为示踪剂探查乳腺癌SLN是目前较具优势的方法,且不同于传统的淋巴显像;乳腺癌SLN探查的成功率受到诸多因素的影响,其探查技术亦需进一步的研究来提高。     

Sentinel node localization in patients with non-palpable breast cancer

The aim of this study was to demonstrate that radionuclide sentinel node detection can be applied to patients with non-palpable breast cancer. One hundred and ten consecutive women with unilateral breast cancer were studied. Group 1 was made up of 80 patients with palpable breast cancer (mean age, 58 years) and group 2 of 30 patients with non-palpable breast cancer detected mammographically (mean age, 55 years). Tc-nanocolloid (111 MBq) was injected peritumorally in palpable tumours, and in the tumour area (ultrasound guided) in non-palpable tumours. At 2 h post-injection, anterior and lateral scintigrams were obtained from patients in the supine position. The location of the sentinel node was marked on the patient's skin. Patients with non-palpable tumours were moved to the surgery room 3 h later, and those with palpable tumours 24 h later. The histopathological study included three haematoxylineosin sections and immunochemistry. All patients underwent axillary lymphadenectomy. The sentinel node was detected in 67 cases (84%) in group 1 and in 28 cases (93%) in group 2. In four patients (5%) in group 1 and two patients (7%) in group 2, no axillary sentinel node was detected in the surgical bed, although it had been seen in scintigraphy. In nine patients (11%) in group 1, neither scintigraphic nor surgical detection was successful. Skip metastasis was seen in six cases (10%) of palpable tumours and in one case (4%) of non-palpable tumours. It can be concluded that non-palpable breast tumours cannot be considered an exclusion criterion for sentinel node localization and biopsy. Ultrasonography-guided injection, followed by scintigraphic and surgical detection of the sentinel node, may help in the management of patients with non-palpable breast tumours.     

Sentinel lymph node identification in breast cancer patients

PURPOSE: To evaluate the predictive value of sentinel lymph node biopsy versus axillary node dissection on lymph node status in patients with T1-T2 breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients with T1 and 12 with T2 breast carcinoma and clinically N0 axillary lymph nodes, underwent lymphoscintigraphy following the administration of 99mTc-human albumin nanocolloids. The tracer was injected subdermally, over the tumor mass, in the 34 patients with palpable lesions and peritumorally (n=3) or intratumorally (n=4), under stereotactic or ultrasound guidance, in the 7 patients with non-palpable lesions. Anterior and lateral planar images were acquired 15 min after the injection of the tracer and repeated every 30 min up to 3 hr until identification of sentinel lymph node. At the end of the scintigraphic study, sentinel node skin projection was marked using a dermographic pen. Eighteen hours after lymphoscintigraphy, sentinel lymph node was identified and removed during surgery by hand-held gamma probe, then, the remaining axillary lymph nodes were dissected. All surgical specimens underwent histologic examination. Sentinel lymph nodes free of metastasis at histology, underwent additional examination with immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratin and EMA to search for micrometastases. RESULTS: Sentinel lymph node was identified in the 34 patients injected subdermally and in the 3 patients injected peritumorally, while it remained undetected in the 4 patients injected intratumorally except for one case in which it was isolated by radioguided surgery but not scintigraphically. Sentinel nodes resulted free of metastases both at histology and immunohistochemistry in 32 cases and metastatic in 6. In the 32 patients with non-metastatic sentinel lymph nodes the other axillary nodes were also free of metastases. Among the 6 metastatic sentinel lymph nodes, in 3 cases they were the only metastatic nodes of the axilla while in the other 3 cases metastases were spread to other axillary nodes. CONCLUSIONS: In agreement with previous studies, our results showed that sentinel lymph node radioguided biopsy is a simple and reliable method for predicting axillary lymph nodes status and for avoiding axillary dissection in early breast cancer patients with sentinel node free of metastases.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in pregnant patients with breast cancer

Purpose

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is currently not recommended in pregnant patients with breast cancer due to radiation concerns.

Methods

Twelve pregnant patients with breast cancer received low-dose (10 MBq on average) lymphoscintigraphy using ^99mTc human serum albumin nanocolloids.

Results

The sentinel lymph node (SLN) was identified in all patients. Of the 12 patients, 10 had pathologically negative SLN. One patient had micrometastasis in one of four SLN. One patient had metastasis in the SLN and underwent axillary clearance. From the 12 pregnancies, 11 healthy babies were born with no malformations and normal weight. One baby, whose mother underwent lymphatic mapping during the 26th week of gestation, was operated on at the age of 3 months for a ventricular septal defect and at 43 months was in good health. This malformation was suspected at the morphological US examination during week 21, well before lymphoscintigraphy, and was confirmed a posteriori by a different observer based on videotaped material. No overt axillary recurrence appeared in the patients with negative SLNs after a median follow-up of 32 months.

Conclusion

Our experience supports the safety of SLNB in pregnant patients with breast cancer, when performed with a low-dose lymphoscintigraphic technique.     

Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer

In breast cancer, sentinel node biopsy (SNB) has replaced diagnostic axillary clearance (AC) in nodal staging in numerous breast surgery units all over the world. However, there is no international standard in imaging, harvesting, and histological examination of the sentinel nodes. SNB has been validated in nodal staging of small, unifocal, clinically axillary-node-negative tumors, with a false-negative rate of approximately 5% of all axillary-node-positive cases. Despite the false-negative results, the method is assumed to provide accurate nodal staging, revealing metastases that remain undetected in AC. Furthermore, clinically overt axillary metastases have been rare when omitting AC relying on tumor-negative sentinel node findings, at least during a short follow-up. SNB is associated with faster recovery and less long-term morbidity than AC. Although the results of the large randomized trials have still to come, SNB has become the standard of care in early breast cancer.     

Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer

The international consensus conference from St. Gallen concerning the treatment of early breast cancer concluded in 2003, that sentinel node biopsy was now accepted as method allowing axillary staging in breast cancer. This procedure may avoid complete lymph node dissection in appropriate cases. Since numerous questions associated with the technique are still not defined and the procedure itself is not yet standardized, the German Society of Senology defined the conditions for the routine clinical use of sentinel node biopsy in an interdisciplinary consensus meeting.     

Sentinel lymph node detection with large human serum albumin colloid particles in breast cancer

Detection of metastatic involvement of lymph nodes is essential for management and prognostic evaluation in breast cancer patients. The success of lymphatic mapping depends on identifying the sentinel lymph node(s) draining the primary tumour. However, when mapping is performed with a radiocolloidal agent, the number of hot lymph nodes varies with the agent and its size, among other factors. In this study, we evaluated prospectively the detection rate of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer when injecting large particles (100-600 nm) of human serum albumin colloids (Senti-Scint). In 128 consecutive breast cancer patients without palpable lymph nodes, pre-operative static lymphoscintigraphic mapping of the breast was performed after subcutaneous injection of 15 MBq of the radiocolloid. Lymphoscintigrahic results were compared with intra-operative surgical gamma detection probe and blue dye mapping data. Pre-operative lymphoscintigraphy and surgical gamma detection probe both correctly detected 203 sentinel lymph nodes in 122/128 patients (95%), while blue dye mapping showed only 183 sentinel lymph nodes in 82% of the patients. Only one or two sentinel lymph nodes were identified in each patient, which allowed the surgeon easily to find the sentinel lymph node(s) intra-operatively. In conclusion, lymphoscintigraphy with large particles of human serum albumin colloids is a helpful and reliable procedure for the surgical management of breast cancer.     

Sentinel node in breast cancer procedural guidelines

Content Procedure guidelines for scintigraphic detection of sentinel node in breast cancer are presented. Authors The paper was written by several experts in this field on behalf of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Oncology and Dosimetry committees and approved by the Executive Committee. An Editorial commentary on this paper is available at . Disclaimer: The European Association of Nuclear Medicine has written and approved guidelines to promote the cost-effective use of high-quality nuclear medicine procedures. These generic recommendations cannot be rigidly applied to all patients in all practice settings. The guidelines should not be deemed inclusive of all proper procedures or exclusive of other procedures reasonably directed to obtaining the same results. Advances in medicine occur at a rapid rate. The date of a guideline should always be considered in determining its current applicability. All authors declare they have no conflict of interest.     

Sentinel node biopsy in male breast cancer

OBJECTIVE: Male breast cancer is a rare disease and axillary status is the most important prognostic indicator. Lymphoscintigraphy associated with gamma-probe guided surgery has been proved to reliably detect sentinel nodes in female patients with breast cancer. This study evaluates the feasibility of the surgical identification of sentinel node by using lymphoscintigraphy and a gamma-detecting probe in male patients, in order to select subjects who would be suitable for complete axillary lymphadenectomy. METHODS: Colloid human albumin labelled with 99Tc was administered to 18 male patients with breast cancer and clinically negative axillary lymph nodes. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed the day before surgery. An intraoperative gamma-detecting probe was used to identify sentinel nodes during surgery. RESULTS: Lymphoscintigraphy and biopsy of the sentinel node were successful in all cases. A total of 20 sentinel nodes were removed. Pathological examinations showed 11 infiltrating ductal carcinomas, two intraductal carcinomas and five intracystic papillary carcinomas. Six patients (33%) had positive sentinel node (micrometastases were found in three patients). These patients underwent axillary dissection; in five of them (83%) the sentinel node was the only positive node. Twelve patients (67%) showed negative sentinel nodes; in all of them no further surgical treatments were planned. CONCLUSIONS: As in women, lymphoscintigraphy and sentinel node biopsy under the guidance of a gamma-detecting probe proved to be an easy method for the detection of sentinel nodes in male breast carcinoma. In male patients with early stage cancer, sentinel node biopsy might represent the standard surgical procedure in order to avoid unnecessary morbidity after surgery, preserving accurate staging of the disease in the axilla.     

Sentinel lymph node detection in patients with early-stage breast cancer: comparison of periareolar and subdermal/peritumoral injection techniques.

Periareolar (PA) injection offers several potential advantages over other techniques for visualizing sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in patients with early breast cancer. However, few studies have been published on this procedure. This study was designed to validate PA injection technique and compare it with the subdermal/peritumoral (SD/PT) injection technique. METHODS: The study included 324 patients in whom 330 breast cancers (T) had been identified by biopsy. This population was divided in 4 groups: (A) 148 patients (150 T) in whom lymphatic mapping was performed by injecting radiotracer with the SD/PT technique; (B) 59 patients (60 T) in whom lymphatic mapping was performed with a combination of blue dye injected with the PA technique and radiotracer injected with the SD/PT technique; (C) 58 patients (60 T) in whom blue dye was injected subdermally and radiotracer was injected periareolarly; and (D) 59 patients (60 T) in whom both blue dye and radiotracer were injected periareolarly. RESULTS: Concordances in the SLN detection rate between blue dye and radiotracer in groups B, C, and D were 98.1%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The SLN identification rates with the PA technique were 98.3% and 95%, respectively, for radiotracer and blue dye. With the SD/PT technique, these rates were 90.5% and 88.3%, respectively, for radiotracer and blue dye. At lymphoscintigraphy, SLN visualization required the acquisition of late images (3 h after the injection) in 20% of patients who received PA injections and 39.5% of patients who received SD/PT injections. CONCLUSION: These findings validate the PA injection technique and underline some of its reported advantages in comparison with the SD/PT technique.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients: subdermal versus peritumoural radiocolloid injection

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has been widely used in the management of melanoma and breast cancer. The aims of this study were (1) to compare the results obtained with the two main injection techniques, the peritumoural and subdermal; and (2) to determine the reliability of SLN to predict the regional lymph node status. METHOD: We prospectively studied 80 women (mean age 56 years) with breast cancer. Thirty-four of them were T1 and the remaining 46 were T2. Patients were divided into two groups. Group A, 36 patients were injected subdermally, surrounding the tumour site. Group B, 44 patients were injected peritumourally guided by ultrasound if non-palpable. Planar images were performed 15 min after the injection and continued until SLN identification. Before surgery, blue dye injection was administered similarly to the radiocolloid. After incision, a hand-held gamma probe was used to reach the SLN. All nodes harvested were analysed by classic pathology techniques. RESULTS: Overall, lymphoscintigraphy allowed the detection of SLN in 75/80 patients (94%). All subdermal lymphoscintigraphies were positive (36/36) compared with 89% of peritumoural (39/44). Blue dye detected SLN in 23/31 patients (74%) after subdermal injection and in 24/34 patients (71%) after peritumoural injection. The sensitivity to localize the SLN with lymphoscintigraphy+blue dye+gamma probe was 92% (33/36) within the subdermal group and 91% (40/44) within the peritumoural group. Overall, five false negative SLN were found. All of these corresponded to T2 tumours with a size greater than 2.5 cm. The negative predictive value and the accuracy were 93% and 94%, respectively, for the subdermal group and 90% and 93% for the peritumoural group. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Our results indicate that both techniques have similar results. However, we suggest that T2 tumours with a size greater than 2.5 cm should be excluded from the SLN technique, in order to improve the accuracy and negative predictive value. (2) Lymphoscintigraphy is essential for visualizing the SLN, and blue dye can be helpful when the gamma probe does not localize the SLN.     

前哨淋巴结核素-染料联合检测术在早期宫颈癌中的应用

目的探讨用前哨淋巴结（SLN）核素-染料联合检测术检出早期宫颈癌的可行性及其应用价值。方法选择2005年3月-2006年4月本院收治的50例按国际妇产科学联盟（FIGO,1994年）标准诊断为Ⅰb-Ⅱa期宫颈癌患者,于肿瘤旁3点钟和9点钟位置各对称注射^99Tc^m-硫胶体148 MBq（4×10^-4L）后15～60min行SLN显像;术中用1探测器探测“热点”淋巴结,并于瘤旁3点钟和9点钟位置注射亚甲蓝2～4ml,记录蓝染淋巴结和“热点”淋巴结数目和部位,再行广泛子宫切除和盆腔淋巴结清扫术及淋巴结病理检查,分析SLN检出率、病理检查结果及与非SLN（NSLN）的关系等。采用SPSS 13.0软件进行统计学处理。结果50例患者核素-染料联合法SLN检出率96．0％（48／50）,核素法SLN检出率92．0％（46／50）,染料法检出率70．0％（35／50）,后两者差异有统计学意义（χ^2=4．92,P〈0．05）。核素法中有37例显像结果与术中γ探测结果一致,符合率为74．0％（37／50）。48例核素-染料联合法检出SLN的患者中,有11例（22．9％）SLN病理检查常规HE染色显示转移,余37例中有1例SLN未显示转移而NSLN显示转移。2例未检出SLN患者中,有1例出现NSLN转移,联合法对SLN探测准确性为97．9％（47／48）,假阴性1例,阴性预测值为97．3％（36／37）。共159枚SLN中,分布于闭孔淋巴结115枚（72．3％）,髂内淋巴结8枚（5．0％）,髂外淋巴结19枚（12．0％）,髂总淋巴结11枚（6．9％）,宫旁淋巴结6枚（3．8％）,左侧SLN总数（90枚）多于右侧（69枚）,且差异有统计学意义（χ^2=5．06,P=0．021）。结论核素-染料联合法检测早期宫颈癌SLN是可行的,且其在预测盆腔淋巴结有无转移等方面具有一定的应用价值。     

用核素法探测宫颈癌前哨淋巴结

目的探讨核素法对宫颈癌前哨淋巴结(SLN)定位的可行性及术前核素显像对术中快速、准确定位SLN的作用。方法20例按国际妇产科学联盟(FIGO)标准诊断为Ⅰb或Ⅱa期宫颈癌患者，于其肿瘤周围多点、对称注射^99Tc^m-硫胶体，行即刻平面显像及断层显像(定位)或视情况行延迟显像；10-12h后术中行“热点”γ探测，并在核素注入点处注入4ml生物染料，记录蓝染淋巴结的部位和数目，再行常规盆腔淋巴结清扫术并进行活组织检查。分析各“热点”、蓝染淋巴结的相互关系和病理结果。结果20例患者核素法、染料法联合探测SLN检出率100％(53／53枚)，无假阴性。术中γ探测检出率92．5％(49／53枚)，染料法检出率88．7％(47／53枚)，两法符合率为75％(15／20例)。13例术前显像定位的SLN区域与γ探测相符，符合率为65％(13／20例)。结论核素法可用于寻找宫颈癌SLN，联合染料法可提高SIN的检出率；术前显像可试用于指导术中快速定位SLN。