J Breast Cancer.  2009 Jun;12(2):100-105. 10.4048/jbc.2009.12.2.100.

The Number of Removed Lymph Nodes for an Acceptable False Negative Rate in Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Breast Cancer

• Koo BY
• Jeong SG
• Eom TI
• Kang HJ
• Kim LS

• KMID: 2175206
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4048/jbc.2009.12.2.100

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was performed to find the adequate number of removed lymph nodes to achieve an acceptable false-negative rate when performing sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer.
METHODS
A total of 179 sentinel node biopsies combined with conventional axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer were performed between November 2003 and June 2007.
RESULTS
The overall identification rate of sentinel lymph node and the false negative rate of the biopsy were 95.0% and 8.1%, respectively. Yet the false negative rate of the biopsy was lowered as the number of the removed nodes was increased. Especially, the false negative rate was 0% when more than 4 lymph nodes were removed.
CONCLUSION
We recommend that four lymph nodes should be removed to obtain accurate results in sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer.

Keyword

Breast cancer; False negative rate; Sentinel lymph node

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Breast
Breast Neoplasms
Lymph Node Excision
Lymph Nodes
Nitriles
Pyrethrins
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
Nitriles
Pyrethrins

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