Short Term Follow-up Data in Breast Cancer Patients with Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Alone

Kim, Hye Gyong; Kim, Je Ryong

Abstract

PURPOSE: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) dissection is now a widely used and accepted method for staging the axilla in breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of axillary lymphatic recurrence and metastasis in breast cancer patients who had a negative SLNB.
METHODS
A retrospective chart review from August of 2001 to December of 2003 was performed for all patients (n=89) who underwent a SLN biopsy and they had a negative SLN on the intraoperative frozen sections. Any additional axillary lymph node dissection was not performed even when the sentinel lymph node(s) were found to be positive by the permanent pathology. The patients received appropriate adjuvant therapy according to the characteristics of the primary tumor. All the patients who had breast conserving surgery received postoperative radiotherapy to the remaining breast, but not to the axilla.
RESULTS
A mean of 4.92 LNs were removed per patient. Among the 89 patients whose sentinel lymph nodes were tumor-free on frozen section, 9 patients had metastatic lymph nodes on the permanent pathology. All the metastases were micrometastasis. Over a mean follow-up period of 53 months, one patient died of liver metastasis and one patient developed n ipsilateral breast recurrence. Only one patient developed an axillary recurrence.
CONCLUSION
SLNB provides accurate staging of breast cancer and this might be a good alternative to routine axillary lymph node dissection with incurring less surgical morbidity.