Annals of Surgical Oncology Sign the Guestbook
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
10.1245/s10434-006-9232-4
Annals of Surgical Oncology 14:621-626 (2007)
© 2007 Society of Surgical Oncology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lelievre, L.
Right arrow Articles by Jacquemier, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lelievre, L.
Right arrow Articles by Jacquemier, J.

Original Article

Value of the Sentinel Lymph Node Procedure in Patients With Large Size Breast Cancer

Loic Lelievre, MD1, Gilles Houvenaeghel, MD1, Max Buttarelli, MD1, Isabelle Brenot-Rossi, MD2, Laetitia Huiart, MD3, Agnes Tallet, MD4, Carole Tarpin, MD5 and Jocelyne Jacquemier, MD6

1 Department of Surgery, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232 Bd Sainte Marguerite, Marseilles, France
2 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232 Bd Sainte Marguerite, Marseilles, France
3 Department of Oncogenetics, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232 Bd Sainte Marguerite, Marseilles, France
4 Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232 Bd Sainte Marguerite, Marseilles, France
5 Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232 Bd Sainte Marguerite, Marseilles, France
6 Department of Pathology, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232 Bd Sainte Marguerite, Marseilles, France

Correspondence: Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Loic Lelievre, MD; Département de Chirurgie, Chirurgie Oncologique 2, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232 Bd Sainte Marguerite, 13009 Marseille, France; E-mail: lelievrel{at}marseille.fnclcc.fr

Background: Widely used in routine for small breast cancers, the sentinel lymph node (SN) biopsy is still discussed in tumors ≥ 3 cm.

Methods: From 2000 to 2005, 152 patients with invasive breast tumor pT ≥ 3 cm had a SN biopsy systematically followed by complete level I/II axillary dissection. Surgery was always the first stage of the treatment. Detection was done after injection of radioisotope followed by a lymphoscintigraphy and injection of Patent Blue. The SN procedure systematically included palpation of the axilla with removal of any enlarged (>1 cm) and/or abnormally firm node even if neither blue nor radioactive. The sentinel lymph node status was compared with the final axillary status.

Results: Tumor size ranged from 30 to 200 mm (median 42 mm). Lymphoscintigraphy was positive in 98% of the cases. At least one labeled sentinel node was retrieved in 97.4% of the patients. The median number of SN cleared out was 2 (range 1–9). The false negative risk was 4% (4/99). The false negative risk was not related to the tumor size and not related to the number of SN removed.

Conclusions: This study shows that the SN procedure is feasible in patients with breast tumors ≥ 3 cm with an acceptable false negative risk <5%, similar to false negatives reported for smaller tumors.

Key Words: Breast carcinoma • Large breast cancer • Sentinel lymph node biopsy • Lymphoscintigraphy






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the Society of Surgical Oncology.