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.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is accurate after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has proved to be an accurate method for detecting nodal micrometastases in previously untreated patients with early-stage breast cancer. We investigated the accuracy of this technique for patients with more advanced breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with stage II or III breast cancer who had undergone doxorubicin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy before breast surgery were eligible. Intraoperative lymphatic mapping was performed with peritumoral injections of blue dye alone or in combination with technetium-labeled sulfur colloid. All patients were offered axillary lymph node dissection. Negative sentinel and axillary nodes were subjected to additional processing with serial step sectioning and immunohistochemical staining with an anticytokeratin antibody to detect micrometastases. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients underwent SLN biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy from 1994 to 1999. The SLN identification rate improved from 64.7% to 94.1%. Twenty-two (51.2%) of the 43 successfully mapped patients had positive SLNs, and in 10 of those 22 patients (45.5%), the SLN was the only positive node. Three patients had false-negative SLN biopsy; that is, the sentinel node was negative, but at least one nonsentinel node contained metastases. Additional processing revealed occult micrometastases in four patients (three in sentinel nodes and one in a nonsentinel node). CONCLUSION: SLN biopsy is accurate after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The SLN identification improved with experience. False-negative findings occurred at a low rate throughout the series. This technique is a potential way to guide the axillary treatment of patients who are clinically node negative after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.     

Initial experience with sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer at the National Cancer Center Hospital East

BACKGROUND: Axillary lymph node dissection is an important procedure in the surgical treatment of breast cancer. Axillary lymph node dissection is still performed in over half of breast cancer patients having histologically negative nodes, regardless of the morbidity in terms of axillary pain, numbness and lymphedema. The first regional lymph nodes draining a primary tumor are the sentinel lymph nodes. Sentinel node biopsy is a promising surgical technique for predicting histological findings in the remaining axillary lymph nodes, especially in patients with clinically node-negative breast cancer, and a worldwide feasibility study is currently in progress. METHODS: Intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy were performed in the axilla by subcutaneous injection of blue dye (indigocarmine) in 88 cases of stage 0-IIIB breast cancer. Sentinel lymph nodes were identified by detecting blue-staining lymph nodes or dye-filled lymphatic tracts after total or partial mastectomy. Finally, axillary lymph node dissection was performed up to Levels I and II or more. RESULTS: Sentinel lymph nodes were successfully identified in 65 of the 88 cases (74%). In the final histological examination, the sentinel lymph nodes in 40 cases were negative, including four cases with non-sentinel-node-positive breast cancer (specificity, 100%; sensitivity, 86%). In nine (31%) of the 29 cases with histologically node-positive breast cancer, the sentinel lymph nodes were the only lymph nodes affected. Axillary lymph node status was accurately predicted in 61 (94%) of the 65 cases. CONCLUSIONS: Although it was the initial experience at the National Cancer Center Hospital East, sentinel node biopsy proved feasible and successful. This method may be a reasonable alternative to the standard axillary lymph node dissection in patients with early breast cancer.     

Sentinel node detection in breast carcinoma

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The standard procedure for the evaluation of axillary nodal involvement in patients with breast cancer is still complete lymph node dissection. However, about 70% of patients are found to be free of metastatic disease while axillary node dissection may cause significant morbidity. Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy are changing this situation. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: In a period of 18 months we studied 201 patients with breast cancer, excluding patients with palpable axillary nodes, tumors > 2.5 cm in diameter, multifocal or multicentric cancer, pregnant patients and patients over 80 years of age. Before surgery 99mTc-labeled colloid and vital blue dye were injected into the breast to identify the SLN. In lymph nodes dissected during surgery the metastatic status was examined by sections at reduced intervals. Only patients with SLNs that were histologically positive for metastases underwent axillary dissection. RESULTS: We localized one or more SLNs in 194 of 201 (96.5%) patients; when both techniques were utilized the success rate was 100%. Histologically, 21% of patient showed SLN metastases (7.8% micrometastases) and 68% of these had metastases also in other axillary nodes. None of the patients with negative SLNs developed metastases during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: At present there is no definite evidence that negative SLN biopsy is invariably correlated with negative axillary status; however, our study and those of others demonstrate that SLN biopsy is an accurate method of axillary staging.     

乳腺癌前哨淋巴结定位和活检

目的：难证乳腺癌前哨淋巴结定位和活检技术的可行性和前哨淋巴结的组织状况能否准确预告腋淋巴结的状况。方法：本研究使用专利蓝,对３３例乳腺癌患者进行了术中及术后前哨淋巴结定位和活检术。结果：３０例（９１％）找到前哨淋巴结,前哨淋巴结预告腋淋巴结的准确率为９６．７％,假阴性１例。结论：本研究结果证实,乳腺癌前哨淋巴结定位和活检技术是可行的,前哨淋巴结的组织学特征能够准确反映腑淋巴结的状况。我们相信在将来     

Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy in the patients with breast cancer

Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is always standard part for a variety of surgical treatments of breast cancer. Knowledge of the status of axillary nodes presents important information for staging and prognosis, but it remains controversial that ALND provides local control of disease and offer survivalbenefit. Some authors have questioned the wisdom of continuing to do ALND, when the risk of axillary metastasis in the early case is small, and the postoperative complications are usuall…     

Lymphatic mapping and lymphatic endothelial cell isolation in colorectal cancer patients

Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has already been established as a common procedure with malignant lymphoma and breast cancer. In colorectal cancer, however, the application of the SLN theory remains uncommon and its clinical significance is also unclear. In addition, the characteristics of the lymphatic vessels that connect SLNs or the lymphatic endothelial cells have been unclear. Our purpose is to determine the feasibility and accuracy of SLN mapping by intraoperative subserosal dye injection and to develop a novel method for the isolation of anatomically defined lymphatic endothelial cells. Methods: SLN biopsy by the subserous dye injection method (patent blue) was conducted in 36 patients with colorectal cancer for which curative resection was possible (stage 0: two cases, stage I: 18 cases, stage II: four cases, stage III: 12 cases), with additional systematic lymph node dissection. Endothelial cells were isolated from lymphatic vessels identified at the time of the SLN biopsy by the collagenase II perfusion method, and we tried to transfer them into a culture system with an endothelial cell‐specific medium. Results: SLNs could be identified in 34 cases, providing a 94.4% detection rate. The total number of resected lymph nodes was 705 and 72 of those nodes were confirmed as SLNs (10.2%). Ten metastasis‐positive nodes were found in SLNs (13.9%), and the mean number of identified SLNs per case was 2.0. No complications or toxicity associated with the dye injection were observed. In addition, cells isolated from the lymphatic vessels removed formed some colonies and the expression of lymphatic endothelial cell‐specific VEGFR‐3 was observed. Conclusion: SLNs mapping using subserosal dye injection is a feasible technique that would make the range of lymph node dissection appropriate for colorectal cancer, which is applicable to cases with advanced cancer. This new method was established to isolate lymphatic endothelial cells from resected lymphatic vessels and to culture them, which may contribute to further study of the molecular mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis.     

Initial experience with sentinel lymph node mapping and biopsy in breast cancer. Preliminary results on 80 consecutive patients

Sentinel node biopsy, in breast cancer, is a promising surgical technique for predicting histological findings in the remaining axillary lymph nodes, especially in patients with clinically node-negative breast cancer. 80 patients with breast cancer were evaluated for enrollment in this study. For mapping procedure 32 patients underwent lymphoscintigraphy in combination with an injection of vital blue dye, while 48 utilized only vital dye. In all patients, after sentinel node (SLN) biopsy, a complete axillary dissection was performed. The mapping procedure was possible in 79 cases (98.7%). The SLNs were positive in 27 (34.1%), in 52 patients SLNs were negative and in 50 of these all axillary nodes were negative. There was concordance in 77/79 cases (97.4%). The false negative rate was 3.8% (2/52). The overall sensitivity of the SNL biopsy was 93.1% (27/29), with a negative predictive value of 96.1% (50/52). This study demonstrates that accurate SLN identification was obtained combining lymphoscintigraphy and blue dye. Moreover, each method requires a suitable learning curve. Further studies are needed to define an accurate patient selection and the most speedy and precise method for intraoperative histological examination of SLNs.     

Tagging sentinel lymph nodes: a study of 100 patients with breast cancer

The aim of this study was to evaluate in breast cancer patients the feasibility of sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification and the sensitivity of this technique to detect node metastases. Between January and July 1997, SLNs were tracked with Evans Blue dye in 100 patients with breast cancer who then underwent complete level I/II axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). All SLNs were examined by haematoxylin–phloxin–saffron (HPS) staining and immunohistochemistry (IHC) of multiple sections. The findings for the SLNs were compared with results on ANLD. Axillary SLNs were identified in 83 patients (detection rate=83%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 74–90%). Axillary SLNs were detected in 58/83 cases (70%) at level I only, and in 69/83 (83%) at levels including level I. Histologically positive axillary SLNs were found in 45% (37/83) of patients, including 2 patients with malignancy (micrometastases) detected by IHC only. The sensitivity of axillary SLN to detect axillary lymph nodes metastases was 37/39=95% (95% CI 83–99%). SLNs of the internal mammary chain (IMC) were dissected for 33 tumours of the median or inner quadrants and detected in 26/33=79% of cases (95% CI 61–91%). In our experience, the overall sensitivity of SLN identification as a predictor of node (axillary or IMC) metastases was 41/43=95% (95% CI 84–99%), confirming the usefulness of the procedure.     

国产亚甲蓝标记乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检64例分析

[目的]评估乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检（SLNB）对预测腋窝淋巴结转移状态的价值。[方法]64例临床Ⅰ、Ⅱ期原发女性乳腺癌，体检无腋淋巴结肿大或虽有肿大而估计非转移性，术中在原发肿瘤周围注射亚甲蓝示踪定位，进行SLNB和腋淋巴结清扫（ALND）。术后对全部前哨淋巴结（SLN）和腋淋巴结（ALN）行常规病理检查。[结果]64例中检出SLN者53例，检出率为82．8％。其中Nn组腋窝淋巴结预测准确度为91.4％，阳性预测符合率100％（5／5）；无假阴性，阴性预测符合率100％（30／30）。N1组准确度仅72．2％（13／18）。腋窝淋巴结肿大不影响SLNB成功率，但降低SLN预测ALN准确度；肿块切检后行SLNB可降低成功率；注射亚甲蓝后60min内解剖SLN不影响SLNB成功率。[结论]在肿块切检前注射亚甲蓝示踪定位，SLNB成功率高，能准确预测（T1，T2）N0M0乳腺癌患者的转移状态。     

Value of Sentinel Lymph Node (SLN) Mapping and Biopsy using Combined Intracervical Radiotracers and Blue Dye Injections for Endometrial Cancer

Background: Lymphadenectomy, as part of the initial surgical staging of patients with endometrial carcinoma, remains a controversial topic in gynecologic oncology. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping has become a well-accepted procedure for melanomas and breast cancer; a number of investigators have begun to explore the utility and accuracy of this technique with regard to endometrial cancer. Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate SLN mapping of early stage endometrial cancer with blue dye in conjunction with a radioactive tracer. Subjects and methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, patients with stage I and II endometrial cancer who were candidates for systemic lymph node dissection during surgery were enrolled, some underwent lymph node mapping and SLN biopsy using combined intra cervical radiotracer and blue dye injections and some applying only an intra cervical radiotracer. SLNs and other lymph nodes were sent for pathological assessment. Sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive value, and the negative predictive value were calculated as predictive values for the radiotracer and blue dye. Results: Pre-operative lymph node mapping showed SLN in 29 out of 30 patients. Intra operations in 29/30 patients, SLNs were harvested by gamma probe; in 13 out of 19 patients SLNs were detected by blue dye. The median number of SLNs per patient was 3 and the total number of SLNs detected was 81. Four patients had positive pelvic lymph nodes. All of the positive nodes were SLNs. Using this technique (radiotracer and blue dye) an overall detection rate of 96.7%, an NPV of 100%, a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 3.85% were achieved. Conclusion: Results of SLN research for endometrial cancer are promising and make feasible the possibility of avoiding unnecessary aggressive surgical procedures in near future by advances in SLN mapping.     

Prognosis of breast cancer patients treated with sentinel node biopsy in Japan

BACKGROUND: Sentinel node biopsy predicts accurate pathological nodal staging. The survival of node-negative breast cancer patients should be evaluated between the patients treated with sentinel node biopsy alone and those treated with axillary lymph node dissection. METHODS: Ninety-seven patients with negative axillary nodes underwent sentinel node biopsy immediately followed by axillary lymph node dissection between January 1998 and June 1999 (the ALND group). Since then, if sentinel lymph nodes were negative on the frozen-section diagnosis, 112 patients underwent sentinel node biopsy alone without axillary lymph node dissection between July 1999 and December 2000 (the SNB group). We retrospectively observed the outcome of the two study groups. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 52 months in all patients. Relapse-free survival rates at 3 years in the ALND and SNB groups were 94% and 93%, respectively. Five of the 112 patients in the SNB group had overt axillary metastases. Three of them with axillary metastases alone were treated with delayed axillary lymph node dissection. These three patients have been free of other events for 3 years after local salvage treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Sentinel node biopsy will emerge as a standard method to diagnose axillary nodal staging for clinically node-negative breast cancer patients.     

Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy in squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip.

AIMS: The risk of metastases to the submandibular and submental lymph nodes in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lower lip is closely related to the primary tumour size and the differentiation of the tumour. In order to determine the feasibility of the technique and the possible metastatic lymph nodes in SCC of the lower lip, intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in patients with tumour size greater than 2 cm (T2) and clinically non-palpable regional lymph nodes (N0). METHODS: Intraoperative lymphatic mapping with patent blue dye was performed in 20 patients with SCC of the lower lip. The stained lymph node (sentinel) was identified in each patient and sent for frozen section analysis in order to verify tumour metastasis. All patients had undergone bilateral suprahyoid neck dissection at the same stage. RESULTS: Three of the patients were female and 17 were male. The median age was 66. Sentinel lymph nodes were identified in 18 of the patients (90%). Intraoperative or post-operative histopathologic examination of the sentinel lymph node showed tumour metastasis in three of the patients (16.6%). The histopathologic examination of the remaining 15 patients whose sentinel lymph nodes were free of metastasis, showed no metastasis in the non-sentinel lymph nodes. In two of the three patients with metastatic sentinel lymph nodes, non-sentinel lymph nodes were free of metastases. There were no false negative results and no local or systemic complications of the technique were seen among the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy is feasible in patients with SCC of the lower lip who have large tumour size and non-palpable regional lymph nodes. The technique may help to avoid neck dissection when the patient has negative sentinel lymph node and when positive provides useful information for more effective radical treatment.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an accurate method for axillary staging in patients with early breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and the feasibility of SLNB in breast cancer patients who had received preoperative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy. METHODS: Patients with advanced breast cancer stage II or III who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy were included in the study. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification and biopsy was attempted and performed, and axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) was performed in the same surgical procedure after SLNB. The histopathologic examination of the SLNs and the dissected axillary lymph nodes was performed and nodal status was compared. RESULTS: Thirty patients were included in the study. After peritumoural injection of technetium-99m labelled human albumin and subareolar subcutaneous injection of blue dye, the SLNs could be identified in 26/30 patients (identification rate 86.7%). In 4/30 patients (13.3%) SLNs could not be identified. In 25/26 patients (96.2%) SLNs accurately predicted the axillary status. Eleven patients had negative SLNs and negative nodes in ALND. Six patients had positive SLNs and positive nodes in ALND. In eight patients SLNs only were positive and nodes in ALND were negative. One patient had a false-negative SLNB, calculating a false-negative rate of 6.7% (1/15). CONCLUSIONS: SLNB is a well introduced technique for axillary staging in patients with early breast cancer. The accuracy of SLNB after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is similar to patients with primary surgery. SLNB could be an alternative to ALND in a subgroup of patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and therefore could reduce morbidity due to surgery in those patients. Due to small numbers of patients, further evaluation in this subset of patients is required.     

Lymph node metastasis from ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion.

BACKGROUND: Widespread use of mammography has increased the detection of ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCISM) in pathology specimens. Currently there is disagreement regarding the incidence of axillary metastasis from DCISM. The controversy centers on whether complete lymphadenectomy is indicated for axillary staging, given its morbidity and the reportedly minimal rate of axillary involvement in these patients. Intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy (SLND) may obviate complete axillary lymph node dissection in selected breast carcinoma patients. In intraoperative lymphatic mapping, isosulfan blue dye is used to demonstrate the course of lymphatic flow from the breast tumor to the first draining or sentinel lymph node. This blue-stained lymph node is selectively excised for pathologic examination; its tumor status is used to predict the tumor status of the other axillary lymph nodes. The authors examined whether SLND would be suitable for staging DCISM. METHODS: From February 1992 to January 1997, 14 patients with DCISM underwent intraoperative lymphatic mapping and SLND at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California. Clinical and pathologic data were prospectively collected. RESULTS: Primary DCISM tumors ranged in size from 0.9 to 6.5 cm. Nine patients presented with mammographic abnormalities, two patients presented with Paget's disease and a palpable lesion, and three patients presented with palpable lesions. Two patients (14.3%) had tumor-involved sentinel lymph nodes. One of these patients had two sentinel lymph nodes, both of which contained single cancer cells identified by immunohistochemistry. The other patient had 1 sentinel lymph node, in which a 0.3-cm metastasis was revealed by light microscopy. Completion axillary dissection was performed on both patients and revealed no further tumor positive lymph node metastases. CONCLUSIONS: SLND can detect lymph node micrometastases (tumor deposits <2 mm) in patients with DCISM. The clinical relevance of these micrometastases is unknown, but their existence shows that DCISM can involve the lymph nodes.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in male patients with early breast cancer

Mastectomy with axillary dissection is still the most commonly recommended procedure for male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate our experience in 32 male patients with early breast cancer who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and axillary dissection only in cases of metastases in the sentinel lymph node (SLN). The median age was 58 years (range, 33-80). Lymphoscintigraphy was successful in all patients, with a mean number of visualized SLNs per patient of 1.3 (range, 1-2). At surgery, the identification rate of the SLN was 100%, with a mean number of removed SLNs per patient of 1.5 (range, 1-3). Twenty-six patients had negative SLNs, six patients had positive SLNs. Two patients with metastatic SLNs had additional positive nodes. After a median follow-up of 30 months (range, 1-63) no axillary reappearance of the disease occurred. As with women, we recommend SLNB in male patients with breast cancer and clinically negative axilla.     

前哨淋巴结检测在早期宫颈癌中的临床应用

背景与目的：前哨淋巴结（sentinel lymphnode,SLN）检测已经广泛应用于一些实体肿瘤的治疗方案设计中,特别是乳腺癌和体表恶性黑色素瘤。若SLN阴性,则可视为该淋巴区域无肿瘤转移。本研究的目的是探讨放射性核素定位法、活性染料定位法及二者联合法探测宫颈癌SLN和评价SLN对早期宫颈癌盆腔淋巴结转移状况的预测价值。方法：27例欲行广泛性子宫切除＋盆腔淋巴结清扫术的宫颈癌患者,术前16h注射^99mTc-右旋糖酐,进行SLN显像：手术时．注射亚甲蓝约4ml,寻找监染淋巴结;同时术中用1探针探测放射性热点。SLN全部被切除后,行广泛子宫切除＋盆腔淋巴结清扫术,所有切除的SLN及非SLN（non—sentinel lymph node,NSLN）分别送常规病理检查。结果：染料法、核素法、联合法对27例患者的SLN检出率分别为96.3%（26/27）、100%（27/27）,100%（27/27）;27例患者中染料法、核素法、联合法分别检出SLN61枚、69枚、70枚;核素法中,术前SPECT/CT融合显像较平面显像多检出4枚宫旁淋巴结。病理结果示7例患者有淋巴结转移,占25.9%（7/27）。SLN检测的敏感性,准确性、阴性预测值,假阴性率分别为85.7%（6/7）,96.3%（26/27）,95.2%（20/21）,14.3%（1/7）。结论：术前SPECT/CT三维断层显像检出SLN的敏感性优于平面显像,并且能够对SLN进行准确定位,联合应用放射性核素定位法和活性染料识别法提高了SLN检出的准确性;SLN的病理结果可以准确的预测早期宫颈癌患者盆腔淋巴结的病理状态。     

美蓝在乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检中的临床价值

目的探讨美蓝在乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检中的临床价值。方法将1%美蓝2ml注入活检腔外上方的皮下及乳腺组织内,然后行Auchincloss仿根治术,依淋巴管走向找到蓝染淋巴结定为SLN,若此时未找到待腋窝清扫结束后,再在标本中寻找,蓝染者为SLN,余为非SLN,分别送病理检查。结果前哨淋巴结检出率为87.9%(95/108),SLN预测腋窝状况的准确率为95.7%(91/95),假阴性率为6.5%(4/62),无假阳性者。未检出者13例,其中4例为假阴性,均属跳跃式转移。前哨淋巴结转移阳性率(34.6%,33/95)和阴性率(65.3%,62/95),与全腋淋巴结转移阳性率(39.8%,43/108)和阴性率(60.2%,65/108)比较,均无显著性差异(P>0.05)。结论美蓝前哨淋巴结活检可以准确预测乳腺癌患者的腋淋巴结状态。     

Histologic detection and clinical implications of micrometastases in axillary sentinel lymph nodes for patients with breast carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is used increasingly in patients with clinically lymph node negative, early-stage breast carcinoma, because it can spare axillary dissection when the sentinel lymph nodes are negative. The question arises, however, whether complete axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) also is necessary in patients with only micrometastases (< or = 2 mm in greatest dimension) in axillary SLNs. The authors carried out the current study to ascertain the risk of non-SLN axillary metastases in such patients and to assess the detection rate of SLN micrometastases in relation to the sectioning interval and the number of sections examined. METHODS: The authors examined 109 patients with micrometastatic SLNs from a series of 634 patients with carcinoma of the breast who underwent SLN biopsy and complete ALND as part of the surgical treatment for their disease. The SLNs were sectioned completely at 50-microm intervals, and the sections were examined intraoperatively. RESULTS: The overall frequency of metastases in axillary non-SLNs was 21.8%. The frequency was correlated significantly with the size of the SLN micrometastatic focus (P = 0.02): 36.4% of patients with foci > 1 mm had metastases in axillary lymph nodes--a percentage approaching 44.7% of patients with macrometastatic SLNs--whereas only 15.6% of patients with micrometastases < or = 1 mm had other involved axillary lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: Outside of clinical trials, patients with T1 and small T2 breast carcinoma and micrometastatic SLNs should undergo complete ALND for adequate staging. However, patients with SLN micrometastases up to 1 mm in greatest dimension have a significantly lower risk of additional axillary metastases, raising the question of whether ALND may be avoided in this subgroup of patients.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer--the Aarhus experience

Eighty patients, with newly diagnosed unifocal breast cancer and with no axillary metastases verified by ultrasonography, underwent sentinel lymph node (SLN) and subsequent axillary lymph node dissection. To identify the SLN, we used a combination of Tc-99m labelled colloid (Albures) and blue dye (Patent Blue V) injected peritumorally. Lymphoscintigraphy was not performed. The SLN was successfully identified in 78 out of 80 patients (97.5%); 43 patients (54%) were found to have metastatic disease. In 33 patients (77%) the SLN was the only node involved. No false-negative nodes were found, defined as SLNs that tested negative but with higher nodes that tested positive. If SLN biopsy is accepted as a routine procedure and when the exact indications are defined, the method described probably could be offered to the majority of breast cancer patients.