临床淋巴结阳性新辅助治疗后腋窝降阶处理的研究进展

在优效系统治疗和精准放疗的时代背景下，乳腺癌新辅助治疗（neoadjuvant treatment,NAT）有助于乳房肿瘤降期实现保乳和腋窝降期，使患者豁免腋窝淋巴结清扫（axillary lymph node dissection,ALND）。目前，在临床腋窝淋巴结阳性的患者中，人表皮生长因子受体2(human epidermal growth factor receptor 2,HER2)阳性和三阴性乳腺癌（triplenegativebreastcancer,TNBC）亚型接受NAT后可达到较高的腋窝病理学完全缓解率（axillarynodalpathologiccomplete response,apCR），有望实现腋窝局部降阶梯处理，相关指南与专家共识推荐初始临床淋巴结阴性（clinicallymphnode negative,cN0）的患者NAT后前哨淋巴结（sentinel lymph node,SLN）阴性可行前哨淋巴结活检（sentinel lymph node biopsy,SLNB）替代ALND,NAT后SLN存在较低肿瘤残留负荷的患者可考虑放疗替代ALND。初始...     

简化腋窝淋巴结清扫术在早期乳腺癌治疗中的应用

目的探讨简化腋窝淋巴结清扫术(axillary lymph node dissection,ALND)在乳腺癌手术中的应用及效果。方法分析2009年1月至2013年6月间行前哨淋巴结活检(sentinel lymph node biopsy,SLNB)327例乳腺癌患者的临床资料,行亚甲蓝染色法SLNB后根据前哨淋巴结(sentinel lymph node,SLN)冰冻病理结果,对SLN阳性者行规范的ALND,SLN阴性则行简化的ALND(只清扫LevelⅠ),比较两组在手术时间、术后住院时间、腋窝引流时间及术后并发症的差异。结果 327例患者中,314例成功进行了SLNB,119例SLN阳性者行标准的ALND,195例SLN阴性者行简化的ALND,11例SLN阴性患者出现LevelⅠ组织淋巴结转移;简化组手术时间、术后住院时间、腋窝引流时间明显缩短,术后腋窝积液、肌力减退、活动受限、疼痛、麻木、肿胀等并发症明显减少。术后随访3~60个月,患者无腋窝淋巴结复发及远处转移。结论蓝染法SLNB是乳腺癌患者腋窝淋巴结转移状态的重要检测技术,对SLN阴性行简化的ALND,可节省医疗资源、减少术后并发症。     

早期乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检替代腋窝淋巴结清扫的临床应用研究

目的 对前哨淋巴结活检(sentinel lymph node biopsy,SLNB)替代腋窝淋巴结清扫(axillary lymph node dis-section,ALND)在早期乳腺癌患者中的应用以及安全性研究及探讨.方法 回顾性分析行SLNB和ALND手术的503例早期乳腺癌病例,对患者住院时间、拔管时间及住院费用进行对比,以及对患者上肢并发症、腋窝局部复发及远处转移情况进行随访,随访至2016年06月,中位随访时间为32(6 ～52)个月.结果 在住院时间、拔管时间、住院费用以及上肢并发症方面,SLNB组明显优于ALND组,差异有统计学意义,而在腋窝局部复发及远处转移情况方面两组无统计学意义.结论 在SLN阴性早期乳腺癌中,SLNB与ALND可以取得相同的疗效,而且,SLNB与ALND相比,手术创伤小,麻木疼痛、肩关节活动受限等术后并发症明显减少,且可缩短患者住院时间,减轻患者的经济负担.     

前哨淋巴结活检术在早期乳腺癌保腋窝治疗中的应用

目的：探讨乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检术（sentonel lymph node biopsy,SLNB）对SLN阴性者进行保腋窝的可行性。方法：联合应用专利蓝（patent blue-v）和^99mTc标记的硫胶体（^99mTc-Sulphur colloid,^99mTc-Sc）行乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检术。对SLN阴性并同意保腋窝者免除腋窝淋巴结清扫（axillary lymph node dissection,ALND）,对SLN阳性或虽SLN阴性但不同意保腋窝者仍行ALND。结果：2002年3月～2006年3月入组临床分期T1～2N0M0乳腺癌患者135例,均行SLNB。SLN阳性44例,其中42例行ALND,2例镜下有微小转移灶者仅行SLNB术后加腋窝淋巴结区域放疗;SLN阴性91例（67.4%）,其中的39例仅行SLNB,52例仍行ALND。全组SLNB准确率97.8%（132/135）,假阴性率6.8%（3/44）。全组中位随访43个月（24～72个月）,SLNB保腋窝者术后并发症明显低于ALND者（P〈0.05）,区域淋巴结无复发,ALND者区域淋巴结亦无复发。结论：SLNB保腋窝近期疗效满意具有良好的微创效果。     

前哨淋巴结活组织检查指导乳腺癌腋窝淋巴结清扫问题的思考

乳腺癌是危及女性生命健康最常见的恶性肿瘤之一。近年来,发展中国家乳腺癌的发病率居高不下,中国乳腺癌发病率每年增长约3%,其中京、津、沪等经济发达地区,乳腺癌已跃居女性恶性肿瘤之首[1]。准确的临床分期尤其是腋窝转移淋巴结分级对评估患者预后和制定治疗方案具有重要参考价值,研究发现有腋窝淋巴结侵犯的乳腺癌患者5年无瘤生存率相对于无腋窝淋巴结转移患者下降40%[2]。以前临床上评价腋窝淋巴结转移情况主要依靠腋窝淋巴结清扫（ axillary lymph node dissection, ALND）,致使绝大多数乳腺癌患者均接受了腋窝淋巴结清扫。自从20世纪90年代前哨淋巴结活组织检查（ sentinel lymph node biopsy, SLNB）首次应用于乳腺癌手术以来, SLNB逐渐改变了上述状况,使得SLNB阴性的乳腺癌患者避免接受ALND,SLNB现已成为决定患者是否需要进行ALND的主要依据[3]。近年来,临床研究结果提示部分SLNB阳性的乳腺癌患者即使不接受 ALND,其预后也不会因此受到影响[4],这引起了学者对SLNB 阳性乳腺癌患者是否一定要行ALND问题的思考。笔者就近年来有关SLNB指导腋窝淋巴结切除的研究成果进行总结,并展望SLNB在未来临床实践过程中的指导作用。     

前哨淋巴结活检术在早期乳腺癌保乳术中的应用

目的探讨前哨淋巴结活检术（sentinellymph node biopsy,SLNB）在早期乳腺癌保乳术中的应用效果。方法回顾性分析56例pT1.2N0M0期乳腺癌行保乳术＋前哨淋巴结活检术的临床资料。56例SLN阴性,未行腋窝淋巴结清扫术（axillary lymph node dissection,ALND）。术后辅以化疗、放疗,激素受体阳性患者行内分泌治疗。结果56例成功施行保乳手术,保乳术后双乳对称。SLNB替代ALND者各项术后并发症少。中位随访时间36个月（1～72个月）,1例发现局部复发,行乳腺癌改良根治术时发现腋窝淋巴结转移;1例发现腋窝淋巴结复发转移。结论SLNB可以缩小手术范围,减少术后并发症,保留腋窝形态,提高保乳质量。     

前哨淋巴结活检指导乳腺癌腋窝淋巴结清扫的研究进展

腋窝淋巴结清扫（axillary lymph node dissection,ALND）对降低乳腺癌患者的复发转移率、延长乳腺癌患者生存期具有重要意义,临床上绝大部分前哨淋巴结活检（sentinel lymph node biopsy,SLNB）结果阳性的乳腺癌患者均接受ALND。但现有研究显示,部分前哨淋巴结阳性的乳腺癌患者并没有因ALND而取得生存获益,这就引发了对于SLNB阳性的乳腺癌患者是否必须行ALND问题的思考。本文就近年来SLNB指导乳腺癌患者ALND相关研究的新进展进行综述。     

乳腺癌新辅助化疗后前哨淋巴结活检术的研究进展

新辅助化疗（neoadjuvant chemotherapy,NAC）为乳腺癌患者的临床分期降期带来可能,使不可手术变为可手术,不可保乳变为可保乳。前哨淋巴结活检术（sentinel lymph node biopsy,SLNB）极大降低了早期乳腺癌患者的腋窝淋巴结清扫（axillarylymph node dissection,ALND）率。目前,由于检出率较低而假阴性率较高,NAC后乳腺癌患者能否采用SLNB方法评估腋窝淋巴结状态仍有争议。本文将针对NAC后解决SLNB检出率低和假阴性率高的方法以及处理腋窝淋巴结等方面进行综述。      

乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检的临床探讨

目的:评估乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检(Senital lymph node biopsy SLNB)对预测腋窝淋巴结转移状态的价值及其临床意义.方法:临床Ⅰ、Ⅱ期原发女性乳腺癌41例,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,行SLNB和腋淋巴结清扫(Axillary lymph node dissection 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:41例中检出SLN者32例,检出率为78.0%.其中N0组25例准确度为96.0%:阳性预测符合率100%;假阴性0例,阴性预测符合率100%.N1组7例准确度仅57.1%,假阴性2例,阴性预测符合率0.结论:应用亚甲蓝示踪定位SLNB,能准确预测(T1、T2)N0M0乳腺癌患者的转移状态,宜于推广应用.     

腋网综合征研究进展

腋网综合征（axillar yweb syndrome,AWS）是一种乳腺癌患者行腋窝淋巴结清除术（axillary lymph mode dissection,ALND）或前哨淋巴结活组织检查（sentinel lymph node biopsy,SLNB）后早期出现的一种临床综合征,也可见于行腋窝结节活组织检查的非乳腺癌患者。     

前哨淋巴结活检在早期乳腺癌患者腋窝管理中的研究进展

传统的观点认为腋窝淋巴结清扫(axillary lymph node dissection,ALND)是前哨淋巴结(sentinellymph node,SLN)阳性乳腺癌患者的标准治疗方法,而ALND容易引起上肢水肿、功能障碍等术后并发症,影响患者生活质量.近几年研究显示,对于SLN阳性的早期乳腺癌,并非所有患者都需...     

乳腺癌新辅助化疗后前哨淋巴结活检的临床意义

目的探讨新辅助化疗后乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检的可行性。方法对57例行^99Tc联合亚甲蓝示踪前哨淋巴结活检术和腋窝淋巴结清扫术乳腺癌患者的资料进行分析,其中31例ⅡB、Ⅲ期患者先行2～3个疗程新辅助化疗后再行前哨淋巴结活检及腋窝淋巴结清扫术,另26例Ⅰ、Ⅱ期患者直接行前哨淋巴结活检及腋窝淋巴结清扫术。结果新辅助化疗组和非新辅助化疗组平均腋窝淋巴结数、前哨淋巴结（sentinel lymph node,SLN）数、SLN检出率、SLN假阴性率均无显著差异（P均〉0．05）。新辅助化疗纽化疗前临床分期在N2以上者,SLN检出率均显著下降（P〈0．05）。结论新辅助化疗后前哨淋巴结活检能准确预测腋窝淋巴结的状况。化疗前的N分期是SLNB检出率的影响因素。     

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.     

200 Sentinel lymph node biopsies without axillary lymph node dissection -- no axillary recurrences after a 3-year follow-up

The aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of axillary recurrences in sentinel lymph node (SLN)-negative breast cancer patients after sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) alone without further axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Between May 1999 and February 2002, 333 consecutive patients with primary invasive breast cancer up to 4 cm and clinically negative axillae were entered into this prospective study. Sentinel lymph nodes were identified using the combined method with blue dye (Patent blue V) and technetium 99m-labelled albumin (Nanocoll). Sentinel lymph nodes were examined by frozen sections, standard haematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry staining. In SLN-positive patients, ALND was performed. Sentinel lymph node-negative patients had no further ALND. The SLN identification rate was 98.5% (328 out of 333). In all, 128 out of 328 (39.0%) patients had positive SLNs and complete ALND. A total of 200 out of 328 (61.0%) patients were SLN negative and had no further ALND. The mean tumour size of SLN-negative patients was 16.5 mm. The mean number of SLNs removed was 2.1 per patient. There were no local or axillary recurrences at a median follow-up of 36 months. The absence of axillary recurrences after SLNB without ALND in SLN-negative breast cancer patients supports the hypothesis that SLNB is accurate and safe while providing less surgical morbidity than ALND. Short-term results are very promising that SLNB without ALND in SLN-negative patients is an excellent procedure for axillary staging in a cohort of breast cancer patients with small tumours.     

Timing of the sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy – Recommendations for clinical guidance

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is an increasingly important component in the treatment of both locally advanced and early-stage breast cancer. With this, a debate on the timing of the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has emerged. At the end of the last century, the SLNB was introduced as an axillary staging modality, and this paper aims to further elucidate this issue in the context of NAC. We compiled available data on the SLNB after NAC and provide clinical guidance for timing the SLNB in this context. On the basis of our findings, we recommend that the SLNB can be performed after NAC in all cases. In patients with a clinically node-negative (cN0) status prior to NAC, the SLNB should be performed after NAC, and in case of a histologically confirmed negative SLNB, a completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) has no added value and can be omitted. In patients with clinically positive nodal involvement (cN+) prior to NAC, all axillary surgery can also be performed after NAC.     

Long-term morbidity of patients with early breast cancer after sentinel lymph node biopsy compared to axillary lymph node dissection

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is widely accepted as an excellent method in the management of early breast cancer in patients with clinically negative axillary lymph nodes. Since SLNB requires less traumatic surgery to the axilla than axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), it was assumed to result in reduced shoulder/arm morbidity. However, data on long-term morbidity after SNLB are sparse. The present study was set up to compare long-term arm/shoulder morbidity as well as oncological outcome after SLNB versus ALND in patients with early breast cancer. METHODS: Oncological outcome, objective shoulder/arm morbidity, and subjective complaints after SLNB or ALND for T1 breast cancer were assessed after a minimum follow-up of 20 months. RESULTS: One hundred thirty four patients were included in the study. Thirty-one patients underwent SNLB only, 103 patients had SLNB followed by ALND or ALND only. Loss of strength and hypaesthesia were less frequent after SLNB. No lymph oedema occurred after SNLB without adjuvant radiotherapy. Subjective complaints concerning pain, hypaesthesia, and paresthesia were more common in the ALND group. No axillary recurrence developed in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Isolated SLNB in node-negative pT1 breast cancer patients is a highly efficient tool to reduce postoperative long-term morbidity without compromising the local control of the disease. The reported ameliorations should favour SLNB as staging and treatment modality in patients suffering from early breast cancer.     

Recurrence after sentinel lymph node biopsy with or without axillary lymph node dissection in patients with breast cancer

BACKGROUND: A regional nodal recurrence is a major concern after a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) alone in patients with breast cancer. In this study we investigated patterns and risk factors of regional nodal recurrence after SLNB alone. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1999 and March 2005, a series of 1,704 consecutive breast cancer cases in 1,670 patients (34 bilateral breast cancer cases) with clinically negative nodes or suspicious nodes for metastasis who underwent SLNB at a single institute (Saitama Cancer Center) were studied. All 1,704 cases were classified based upon presence or absence of a metastatic lymph node, treated with or without axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). The site of first recurrence was classified as local, regional node, or distant. The regional node recurrences were subclassified as axillary, interpectoral, infraclavicular, supraclavicular, or parasternal. RESULTS: After a median follow-up period of 34 months (range, 2-83 months), first recurrence occurred in local sites in 32 (1.9%) cases, regional nodes in 26 (1.5%) cases, and distant sites in 61 (3.6%) cases. In 1,062 cases with negative nodes treated without ALND and 459 cases with positive nodes treated with ALND, 11 (1.0%) and 15 (3.3%) recurred in regional nodes, respectively, and 4 (0.4%) and 2 (0.6%) recurred in axillary nodes, respectively. Of 822 cases of invasive breast cancer with negative nodes treated with SLNB alone, 10 (1.4%) recurred in regional nodes, and 4 (0.5%) recurred in axillary nodes. In the 10 patients with regional nodal failure, all of the tumors were negative for estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR) and were nuclear grade (NG) 3. CONCLUSIONS: The axillary recurrence rate was low in patients treated with SLNB alone. Omitting ALND is concluded to be safe after adequate SLNB. Risk factors for regional nodal failure after SLNB alone are negative hormone receptor status and high NG.     

Survival after negative sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer at least equivalent to after negative extensive axillary dissection.

AIM: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) without completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is replacing ALND as the axillary staging procedure of choice in breast cancer patients with a clinically negative axilla even though it is unclear whether this influences patient survival. Our aim was to compare the survival of breast cancer patients with a negative SLNB without completion ALND to that of extensive ALND-negative patients. METHODS: Eindhoven Cancer Registry data on breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1989 and 2002 with follow-up to 1 January 2005 was used. Survival was compared between 880 SLNB-negative women (median follow-up 3.6years) without completion ALND and 1681 ALND-negative women (median follow-up 7.7years) with at least 10 axillary nodes removed. Conclusions were made after correcting for age, tumour size, tumour location, tumour histology, tumour grade, mitotic activity index (MAI), hormone receptor status, and local and systemic treatment in uni- and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Crude 5-year survival rates were 85% for ALND-negative and 89% for SLNB-negative breast cancer patients (p=0.026). After correction for potential confounders in a multivariate Cox regression analyses, the hazard ratio for overall mortality of ALND-negative compared to SLNB-negative patients without completion ALND was 1.23 (95% confidence interval: 0.93-1.64). CONCLUSION: Survival after a SLNB without completion ALND is at least equivalent to after an extensive ALND in node-negative breast cancer patients. This means that the SLNB only can safely replace ALND as the procedure of choice for axillary staging in breast cancer patients with a clinically negative axilla.     

A New Technique That Complements Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy: Lymph Node Dissection Under the Intercostobrachial Nerves in Early-Stage Breast Cancer

BackgroundArm lymphedema is a common complication after axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), and there is no effective treatment. The clinical significance of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is to avoid the risk of arm lymphedema caused by ALND in cases in which the nodes are negative for cancer cells. In developed countries, sentinel lymph node (SLN) localization methods by using combined dye and radioactive tracer techniques predict the lymph node status in early-stage breast cancer with comparable success rates, accuracy, and false-negative rates. In fact, most researchers agree that the combined technique has significantly higher accuracy than marking the sentinel nodes with dye alone. In China, the radioactive tracer technique is mostly used in research but not in clinical surgery, where it is not permitted. The necessity of intercostobrachial nerves (ICBN) preservation is now accepted by the surgeons and has become the standard procedure in such dissections, which reduces postoperative skin numbness and loss of feeling in the upper arm.MethodsIn our study, the data of 177 patients were analyzed to identify the feasibility of such an assignment and potential clinical significance of ICBN in dividing the axillary space.ResultsWe found that the mean value for the number of nodes under the ICBN was enough for accession, the lymphedema caused by axillary lymph nodes dissection under the intercostobrachial nerves (PALND) was similar with SLNB and lower than ALND, and the PALND can make up for SLNB in false negative (SLNs are negative, while non-SLNs are positive).ConclusionALND under the ICBN could be considered a procedure complementary to SLNB in early-stage breast cancer in China, where the radioactive tracer technique is not widely applied.     

Axillary recurrence in sentinel lymph node-negative breast cancer patients

BackgroundSentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was developed to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in the treatment of breast cancer. SLNB is predictive of axillary node status. Major concern is the occurrence of a false-negative SLN. Purpose of this study is to determine the rate of axillary recurrence in our series of unselected patients.Patients and methodsAll patients with a negative SLNB from November 1999 to December 2006 have been treated and followed at our unit. Information on patients' characteristics, treatment and follow-up has been collected.ResultsEight-hundred and four patients with negative SLNB did not receive ALND. After a median follow-up of 38.8 months, 21 patients had distant metastases, four had axillary relapse, nine had an in-breast recurrence and two had both. All patients with axillary recurrence received axillary dissection and systemic adjuvant therapy. They are all presently alive and free from disease.ConclusionData from this series, the largest from a general hospital, showed that isolated axillary node recurrence after negative SLNB is rare (<1%) and comparable with those reported from referral cancer institutions. We confirm that SLNB for the treatment of early breast cancer patients of a community-based hospital is safe and reliable.