Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer

Sentinel node biopsy is a promising surgical technique to avoid unnecessary axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer patients with histologically negative nodes. Several randomized phase III trials in Western countries are underway to assess sentinel node biopsy in cases of breast cancer in comparison with conventional axillary lymph node dissection. Other investigators have also started observational studies in cases when sentinel lymph nodes are proven histologically negative. In Japan, many issues regarding this minimally invasive surgery remain unresolved: optimal procedure, pathologic work-up, radiation exposure, health insurance coverage, and indication for sentinel node biopsy. The current status and problems of sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer are discussed herein.     

Sentinel node biopsy in vulvar cancer

In vulvar cancer, lymph node status is a major prognostic factor. Currently, the reference regarding nodal exploration is the groin lymphadenectomy responsible for a significant morbidity. The sentinel node technique in breast cancer has become a standard of care. This technique has been studied for fifteen years in vulvar cancer, on small numbers because of its low incidence. There is not yet consensus about its use in practice. This article is a focus on this technology, its feasibility and the benefits of sentinel node detection applied to vulvar cancer.     

Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer

Axillary lymphnode dissection (ALND) for breast cancer patients provides local control and information for the determination of the type of adjuvant therapy. The benefit of axillary surgery itself for survival is considered to be limited to patients with positive nodes. Sentinel node biopsy is a recently developed, minimally invasive technique for precisely predicting axillary nodal status. As this technique has less morbidity and greater accuracy than ALND, it replaces ALND for patients with node negative breast cancer. In this report, we outline the current status of sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer patients and introduce our preliminary results.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in oral cancer

Management of the cervical lymph nodes is one of the most important factors in controlling head and neck carcinoma. The clinical treatment strategy for managing the N0 neck in oral cancer is still under debate. Recently, the accuracy and feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) have been investigated in many studies. An application of the technique to the area of oral cancer was therefore obvious. We reported the technique and accuracy of SNB in our center, and have reviewed the preliminary reports indicating that sentinel node identification is technically feasible in oral and pharynx cancer stages T1 and T2 with clinical N0. However, a multi-institutional trial is needed to determine whether SNB should become a standard procedure.     

Sentinel node biopsy in early vulvar cancer

Lymph node pathologic status is the most important prognostic factor in vulvar cancer; however, complete inguinofemoral node dissection is associated with significant morbidity. Lymphoscintigraphy associated with gamma-probe guided surgery reliably detects sentinel nodes in melanoma and breast cancer patients. This study evaluates the feasibility of the surgical identification of sentinel groin nodes using lymphoscintigraphy and a gamma-detecting probe in patients with early vulvar cancer. Technetium-99m-labelled colloid human albumin was administered perilesionally in 37 patients with invasive epidermoid vulvar cancer (T1-T2) and lymphoscintigraphy performed the day before surgery. An intraoperative gamma-detecting probe was used to identify sentinel nodes during surgery. A complete inguinofemoral node dissection was then performed. Sentinel nodes were submitted separately to pathologic evaluation. A total of 55 groins were dissected in 37 patients. Localization of the SN was successful in all cases. Eight cases had positive nodes: in all the sentinel node was positive; the sentinel node was the only positive node in five cases. Twenty-nine patients showed negative sentinel nodes: all of them were negative for lymph node metastases. Lymphoscintigraphy and sentinel-node biopsy under gamma-detecting probe guidance proved to be an easy and reliable method for the detection of sentinel node in early vulvar cancer. This technique may represent a true advance in the direction of less aggressive treatments in patients with vulvar cancer.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer

The clinical management of breast cancer has improved tremendously in the last 2 decades. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) allows conservation of the axillary lymph nodes in most patients who have breast cancer. Furthermore, it allows identification of occult nodal disease after step sectioning and more detailed staging. Although large breast tumors, multicentric disease, recurrent cancers, and use of neoadjuvant therapy were previously considered contraindications to SNB, a large body of evidence is accumulating to support its use in these cases. The prognostic significance of micrometastases and isolated tumor cells needs clarification in prospective, randomized trials.     

胃癌前哨淋巴结活检

近年来前哨淋巴结活检(SLNB)技术已经成为胃癌研究的热点,将极大推动胃癌个体化淋巴结清扫术的发展.SLNB对指导胃癌淋巴结的清扫范围有肯定价值,在胃癌的外科治疗中具有良好的应用前景.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.

The concept of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in breast cancer patients is simple, attractive and rapidly emerging as a new standard of care. Several aspects of the technique of lymphatic mapping, case selection, pathologic analysis and the finding of micrometastases, and the accuracy of the technique are important subjects of study and debate in the literature and will be discussed in this review. High identification rates can be attained by the use of both radioguided and blue dye lymphatic mapping. Intradermal injection of tracers has reported to be successful, suggesting that dermal and parenchymal lymphatics drain to the same SLN. Extra axillary drainage is only seen after peri- or intratumoural injection. SLN biopsy is most widely used for both palpable and non-palpable T1 and T2 tumours, and limited experience exists for other indications. Accuracy is high only in experienced hands. The impact of failure of the procedure on regional disease control and survival will be assessed in a trial of the NSABP (National Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project). The influence of a positive SLN biopsy with and without axillary dissection on survival and local control will be studied in trials of the BASO (British Association of Surgical Oncology), ACOSOG (American College of Surgeons Oncology Group) and EORTC (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer). These phase III trials and related studies on the importance of micrometastases in the SLN will give new insights in the safety of the SLN procedure and in the importance of treatment of regional lymph nodes in relation to local disease control and survival.     

前哨淋巴结活检术在乳腺癌手术中的应用

目的探讨乳腺癌手术治疗中前哨淋巴结活检术的应用价值。方法选取2013年2月至2016年12月间海南省中医院收治的80例接受乳腺癌手术治疗的患者,采用随机数表法分为观察组(接受前哨淋巴结活检术)与对照组(未接受前哨淋巴结活检术),每组40例。比较两组患者治疗前后血清肿瘤标志物水平和不良反应情况。结果治疗后观察组患者血清肿瘤标志物癌脴抗原(CEA)、糖类抗原(CA153)和糖类抗原(CA125)分别为(2.36±0.56)ng/ml、(13.21±5.53)U/ml和(15.64±5.43)U/ml,对照组患者分别为(3.28±0.86)ng/ml、(14.86±4.53)U/ml和(16.98±6.69)U/ml,两组均较治疗前明显降低,且观察组患者较对照组降低更多,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。对照组患者皮下积液、上肢水肿和上肢活动受限等并发症发生率合计为40.0%,观察组患者为7.5%,两组比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论前哨淋巴结活检辅助乳腺癌手术能够避免不必要的淋巴结清扫,减少机体损伤,降低不良反应发生率,且不会对手术效果造成影响,可在临床中推广。     

Sentinel node biopsy in elderly breast cancer patients

INTRODUCTION: Even if an increasing body of data suggests that sentinel node biopsy is a safe and accurate method of screening the axillary nodes for metastasis, there is a tendency to perform less extensive or no axillary surgery in older breast cancer women. The aim of this study therefore was to assess the safety of the procedure as well as the rate of axillary recurrences after sentinel node biopsy in this older population. METHODS: Between May 1997 and March 2003, 241 consecutive elderly patients (>or=70 years) with operable breast cancer up to 3 cm and clinically negative axillary lymph nodes were entered into this study. Sentinel node was identified using 5-10 MBq of 99 mTc-labeled colloidal particles and examined with immediate complete intraoperative frozen-section. RESULTS: The sentinel node identification rate was 100%. Ninety-seven percent of the patients underwent breast-conserving surgery. In 90 out of 241 patients (37.3%) the sentinel node was positive for metastasis and complete axillary dissection was immediately performed. In 56.7% of these patients the sentinel node was the only lymph node involved. Micrometastasis in the sentinel node was detected in 30 of the 90 (33.3%) patients. A total of 151 patients (62.7%) were sentinel node negative and no further surgical treatment was done. There were no axillary recurrences at a median followup of 29.7 months (range 3-87 months). The overall survival of this group of patients was 97.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Sentinel node biopsy is a safe and accurate method of screening the axillary nodes for elderly women with operable breast cancer less than 3 cm. The absence of axillary recurrences after sentinel node biopsy without complete axillary dissection supports the hypothesis.     

甲状腺乳头状癌前哨淋巴结活检的临床意义

目的 探讨甲状腺乳头状癌颈部前哨淋巴结(SLN)活检的准确性及可行性.方法 前瞻性分析23例临床淋巴结阴性(cNO)的甲状腺乳头状癌患者,术前2～5 h在超声引导下瘤体内注入99Tcm-右旋糖酐(99Tcm-DX)74 MBq,术中在肿瘤周围注入亚甲蓝0.2～0.4 ml.采用核素法(淋巴结闪烁显像法+γ探针法)和染料法定位SLN,并行术中冰冻病理检查,与术后颈清扫标本常规病理进行对照.结果 23例甲状腺乳头状癌患者均检测出SLN,检出率达100%(23/23).其中染料法和核素法的检出率分别为87.0%和100%.23例患者中,SLN冰冻阳性12例.1例术中冰冻检测SLN未发现转移癌而术后常规病理发现转移;1例SLN冰冻及病理均未发现转移,但颈清扫标本中非SLN(Ⅵ区)有转移.有21例患者的SLN活检结果与术后颈部淋巴结常规病理结果相符,准确度为91.3%(21/23),阳性预测值为100%(12/12),阴性预测值为81.8%(9/11).结论 SLN活检对预测cNO甲状腺乳头状癌的颈部淋巴结转移和指导临床治疗有重要的意义.     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck cancer

In the past decade, the technique of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has been applied to a vast array of primary neoplasms, ranging from head and neck melanoma to vulvar carcinoma. At present, experience with SLNB is greatest in patients with melanoma and breast cancer. In view of the well known complications associated with cervical node dissection, it has been suspected for some time that cervical SLNB, if successful, might reduce the morbidity associated with the definitive care of patients with head and neck cancers. This report assesses the current status of SLNB in the treatment of head and neck cancers; while formal investigations of the efficacy of this technique are recommended, SLNB has not yet been demonstrated to possess the same level of utility seen in SLNB in melanoma and breast cancer patients. As a consequence, the application of SLNB to head and neck cancers remains an experimental technique--one which has not yet acquired the status of the standard of patient care.     

Sentinel node biopsy in patients with multiple breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Multicentric or multifocal breast cancer is considered a limitation for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). Studies showing that all quadrants of the breast drain via common afferent lymphatic channels indicate that multiple tumors do not affect lymphatic drainage. We therefore assessed the accuracy of SLNB in patients with multiple breast tumors. METHODS: Of the 942 breast cancer patients who underwent SLNB using radioisotope at Asan Medical Center between January 2003 and December 2006, 803 had unifocal and 139 had multiple tumors. Axillary dissection after SLNB was performed on 884 patients, 757 with unifocal and 127 with multiple tumors. All patients underwent lymphatic scintigram for removal of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). The clinical characteristics and accuracy of SLNB was compared in patients with unifocal and multiple breast cancer. RESULTS: In the multiple tumor group, 2.68 +/- 0.84 SLNs were identified in 136 of 139 patients (identification rate, 97.84%); 81.5% of SLNs were identified by scintigram. The incidence of axillary metastases was 29.50% (41/139). SLNB accuracy was 97.63% (124/127), with a false negative (FN) rate of 7.89% (3/38). In the unifocal group, 2.67 +/- 0.96 SLNs were identified in 787 of 803 patients (identification rate, 98.00%); 84.8% of SLNs were identified by scintigram. The incidence of axillary metastasis was 22.04% (177/803). SLNB accuracy was 98.02% (742/757), with a FN rate of 8.62% (15/174). The accuracy and FN rate of SLNB did not differ significantly between unifocal and multiple breast cancer. CONCLUSION: The accuracy of SLNB in multiple breast cancer is comparable to its accuracy in unifocal cancer. These findings indicate that SLNB can be used an as alternative to complete axillary lymph node dissection in patients with multiple breast tumors.