scholarly journals Lymph Node Radiotherapy Instead of Extended Axillary Surgery - the New Standard

Breast Care ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Niehoff ◽  
Silla Hey-Koch

Breast cancer treatment has undergone major changes in the last 20 years. Specifically, the role of axillary lymph node dissection has changed from radical axillary dissection with excision of a high number of lymph nodes to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). This paradigm shift is associated with a controversial debate regarding the significance of axillary staging, the need for surgery, and the role of radiotherapy. Looking ahead, lymph node staging and axillary treatment might shift from SLNB and/or axillary dissection to ultrasound-guided needle biopsy and irradiation of regional lymph nodes in order to reduce treatment-related sequelae in early-stage breast cancer.

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (7) ◽  
pp. 690-694
Author(s):  
Richard L. White ◽  
Pooja P. Palmer ◽  
Sally J. Trufan ◽  
Deba Sarma

Some authors report that patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy have fewer lymph nodes harvested during axillary dissection and more dissections with < 10 nodes compared with patients who undergo surgery initially. We sought to determine whether there was a difference between these patient groups in terms of number of nodes harvested and number of dissections with < 10 nodes. Retrospective review of 258 patients diagnosed with breast cancer who underwent an axillary lymph node dissection between July 1,2015, and December 31, 2017 was performed. Chi-squared test was used to assess differences between patient groups. Of 258 patients undergoing dissection, 48 per cent received neoadjuvant chemotherapy; 52 per cent underwent surgery as first therapeutic intervention. Mean number of nodes resected; 14.3 + 6.3 for patients with no prior chemotherapy versus 14.9 + 6.6 for patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy ( P = 0.48). For patients undergoing surgery as first intervention, 21 per cent had < 10 nodes harvested. For patients receiving neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, 20 per cent had < 10 nodes harvested. Patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy showed no statistically significant difference in the number of lymph nodes harvested during axillary dissection compared with patients undergoing surgery as first intervention. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy does not reduce the node harvest at the time of axillary dissection.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 117-117
Author(s):  
Archana Radhakrishnan ◽  
Paula Silverman ◽  
Robert R. Shenk ◽  
Cheryl L. Thompson

117 Background: Racial disparities in outcomes continue to persist amongst breast cancer (BC) patients (pts). Standard of care for the surgical evaluation of early BC has changed from axillary lymph node dissection being recommended for axillary staging to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for clinically node-negative pts. SLNB, however, can be deferred if findings would not alter treatment plans. The goal of this study is to determine if SLNB rates differ by race, age, insurer, community vs academic setting or surgeon. Causes contributing to disparities will be considered. Methods: Pts undergoing primary surgery for early stage BC from 2010-2011 at our academic teaching hospital and two affiliated community medical centers were identified from the tumor registry. Data abstracted included demographics, insurance type, medical center and surgeon. For pts without SLNB, clinical information was confirmed with medical record review. Unadjusted comparison of factors for pts who did and did not have SLNB was evaluated with a t-test or chi square test. Logistic regression modeling assessed significance of demographic and clinical factors predicting SLNB. Results: 499 pts were identified; 114 (23%) were black, 373 (75%) white, and 12 (2%) others/unknown race. SLNB was performed in 443 (89%) of total pts, without racial differences (86% of black and 89% of white pts (p=0.31) had SLNB). Average age of pts who had SLNB was younger (60.4) than those who did not (76.3) (p<0.01). As compared to those with managed care insurance (97%) or Medicaid (91%), only 78% of Medicare pts had SLNB (p<0.01). There was no statistical difference in SLNB rates between academic and community medical centers or by surgeon. Chart review determined that the standard of care was met in 55/56 pts who did not have SLNB; reasons for no SLNB include advanced age (range 79-95), in-breast recurrences, and positive nodes pre-operatively. Conclusions: Utilization rates of SLNB did not differ between black and white BC pts. Differences were seen based on age and insurer. Although only 89% of pts had SLNB, careful evaluation for reasons reveals medically appropriate treatment in almost all cases. These results suggest cautionary interpretation of large database findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Damir Grebić ◽  
Aleksandra Pirjavec ◽  
Domagoj Kustić ◽  
Tihana Klarica Gembić

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy to affect females. The first suggestions of BC and its treatment date back to Ancient Egypt, 1500-1600 B.C. Throughout history, the management of BC has evolved from extensive radical mastectomy towards less invasive treatments. Radical mastectomy was introduced by W.S. Halsted in 1894, involving the resection of the breast, regional lymph nodes, pectoralis major and minor. Despite its mutiloperative lymphatic mapping and the concept of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy (SLNB) have been developed. SLNB has replaced axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) to be the standard procedure for axillary staging in patients with clinically node-negative BC. Many women have since been spared ALND, including those with negative SLNB or with SLNs involved with micrometastases (0.2-2 mm in size). In the last decade, evidence gathered from new clinical trials suggests that ALND may be safely omitted even in BC patients with 1 or 2 positive SLNs if adjuvant radiotherapy is delivered.ating effect, it had been the main surgical approach to BC patients until 1948, when Patey and Dyson proposed its modified form that conserved pectoralis major and minor and the level III of axillary lymph nodes. The latter was associated with less postoperative morbidity and improved quality of life. The idea of limited breast tissue resection was introduced in the 1970s by Umberto Veronesi and led to further minimizations of surgery in BC patients until breast conservation became the standard of care for early-stage disease. In the 1990s, intra


2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (27_suppl) ◽  
pp. 7-7
Author(s):  
J. M. Lyons ◽  
M. Stempel ◽  
K. J. Van Zee ◽  
H. S. Cody

7 Background: DCIS with microinvasion (DCISM) is a lesion for which prognosis may be intermediate between that of DCIS and invasive breast cancer, but for which the role of axillary lymph node staging remains controversial. Here we report clinical characteristics and outcome in 112 patients with DCISM, with a particular focus on the role of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. Methods: From our prospective database we retrospectively identified 112 patients with a diagnosis of DCISM who had undergone SLN biopsy between 1996 and 2004 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Median follow up was 6 years. Results: We found positive SLN in 12% (14/112) of all patients, macrometastases in 2.7% (3/112) and micrometastases in 10% (11/112). We performed axillary dissection (ALND) in all patients with macrometastases (3/3), finding additional positive nodes in 66% (2/3), and in 27% of those with micrometastases (3/11), finding no additional positive nodes. Among patients with negative SLN (38% of whom received systemic therapy), there were 5 loco-regional recurrences (1 in the ipsilateral axilla, and 4 in the ipsilateral breast, all DCIS) and 4 contralateral second primary breast cancers. Among patients with positive SLN (86% of whom received systemic adjuvant therapy), there were no loco-regional or distant recurrences. Conclusions: Positive SLN were present in 12% of our patients with DCISM, none of whom experienced recurrence at 6 years’ follow up. SLN biopsy may be justified for DCISM, but is clearly most beneficial to identify a very small subset of DCISM patients (2.7%, with SLN macrometastases) who could benefit from systemic adjuvant therapy. Our data imply that between 125 and 250 SLN biopsy procedures would be required to avoid breast cancer mortality in 1 patient, and do not support the routine use of ALND for SLN-positive patients. We recommend a critical reappraisal of routine SLN biopsy for DCISM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
Irina V. Kolyadina ◽  
Tatiana Yu. Danzanova ◽  
Svetlana V. Khokhlova ◽  
Oksana P. Trofimova ◽  
Ekaterina V. Kovaleva ◽  
...  

The involvement of axillary lymph nodes is one of the most important prognostic factors, significantly affecting the treatment strategy for early breast cancer (BC). The risk of axillary lymph node metastases depends directly on a number of factors (age of women, size of tumor, presence of lymphovascular invasion and biological characteristics of cancer). The evaluation of regional lymph node status in patients with early BC includes the clinical examination of regional zones and the ultrasound study (US), using these methods can help to study lymph nodes shape, borders, margins and structure. The sensitivity of ultrasound in the evaluation of regional lymph nodes status directly depends on the biological subtype of the tumor; the minimum level of ultrasound sensitivity in the evaluation of lymph nodes status is detected for luminal HER2-negative cancer (less than 40%), and maximum sensitivity is detected for triple negative and HER2-positive subtypes (6871%). Clinical examination and modern ultrasound are the most accessible methods for the evaluation of regional lymph nodes status, but the possibility to misjudge metastatic process can be detected in 1/4 of patients. Verification of the diagnosis in the preoperative phase (fine-needle aspiration biopsy/core-needle biopsy under ultrasound guidance) allows minimize the number of errors for the regional staging. The sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the gold standard of regional treatment in patients with early stage BC, nowadays. The randomized trials (NSABP B-32, ACOSOG q0011) show the safety of recession of performing regional lymph node dissection in favor of SLNB not only in case of clinically negative lymph nodes, but also in patients with metastases in 2 sentinel lymph nodes, upon condition that organ-conservative treatment and subsequent radiation therapy will be used. High-quality regional staging, the choice of the therapeutic algorithm in accordance with the biological characteristics of carcinoma, the application of the most effective modern drug regimes, the optimal radiation therapy allow not only minimize the extent of surgery, but also achieve high long-term survival results, provide excellent functional results and high quality of life in patients with the involvement of axillary lymph nodes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Abdelmohsen Radwan Hussien ◽  
Monaliza El-Quadi ◽  
Avice Oconnell

Understanding of the various appearances of axillary lymph nodes (LNs) is essential for diagnosing and planning of breast cancer treatment. In this article, the role of ultrasound in detecting abnormal appearing metastatic LNs s is discussed, with emphasis on most of the ultrasonographic features and tools which might help improve detection of axillary LN pathology.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-21
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdulnabi ◽  
Issam Merdan

Background: Lymphedema of the upper extremity is a serious consequence of breast cancer surgery. Postmastectomy lymphedema of the upper limb is usually related to many risk factors, like axillary surgery, radiotherapy, venous obstruction, obesity, and infection. In the current study, the objective was to identify the relationship between the extent of lymph node involvement and axillary dissection on the development of lymphedema. Patients and methods: One hundred and seventy patients managed by modified radical mastectomy with axillary dissection for mammary-invasive adenocarcinoma between January 2009 and December 2016 in Al-Fayhaa Teaching Hospital. The patients were divided into three groups according to the number of lymph nodes involvd, by pathology. The patients had been followed up for at least two years and assessed by standard lymphedema assessment, then categorized into three groups, according to the severity of lymphedema. Results: After the analysis of patient parameters, the highest age group was 36–45 years. More than 60% of the patients had 4–9 lymph nodes involved. Forty-one patients from the 170 developed lymphedema postoperatively. Forty patients had seroma and twenty-one patients had wound infection postoperatively. Conclusion: Post-mastectomy lymphedema is a sequelae of disease process related to the extent of lymph-node involvement and resection rather than operative fault. Key words: breast cancer, mastectomy, lymphedema.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 616-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Song ◽  
J. Bae ◽  
J. Kim ◽  
H. Jeon ◽  
S. Jung

616 Background: The current status of axillary lymph node is the most important prognostic factor in breast cancer. Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is currently the standard option for assessment of axillary lymph nodes. Positron emission tomography - computerized tomography (PET-CT) imaging and breast sonography are a noninvasive imaging modality that can detect malignant lymph node. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of axillary lymph node staging by means of PET-CT imaging compare with breast sonography in breast cancer. Methods: This study involves 129 breast cancer patients and clinically negative axillary node. All patients had whole body PET-CT imaging and breast sonography before SLN biopsy. After SLN biopsy, all patients underwent complete ALND. Axillary lymph nodes were evaluated by standard hematoxylin and eosin staining techniques, while sentinel nodes were further examined for micrometastatic disease. The findings of PET-CT imaging and breast sonography of 129 patients were compared with pathologic findings after operation. Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated applying ROC curve areas. Results: The sensitivity of PET-CT imaging was 60.0%; specificity and accuracy were 83.6% and 73.4%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of breast sonography were 61.8%, 89.0%, and 77.3% respectively. The SUVs of axillary lymph node ranged from 0.0 to 7.01. Analysis using ROC curves revealed the area under each curve which indicated a diagnostic accuracy. For involvement of axillary lymph node, PET-CT imaging had the area under the curve of 0.735, breast sonography one of 0.769. Conclusions: Axillary lymph node staging using PET-CT imaging is inferior to the breast sonography in early stage of breast cancer patients. Our study reveals the value of PET-CT imaging is not good compare to the breast sonography in the detection of axillary lymph nodes metastasis in patients with early breast cancer. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (26_suppl) ◽  
pp. 51-51
Author(s):  
Akiko Matsumoto ◽  
Maiko Takahashi ◽  
Tetsu Hayashida ◽  
Hiromitsu Jinno ◽  
Yuko Kitagawa

51 Background: For patients with clinically node-negative, early-stage breast cancer, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has replaced axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) as a standard method for staging of regional lymph nodes. Regional recurrences after negative (SLNB) have generally been reported in the range of 0.5 to 2% and factors associated with regional recurrence in patients with negative SLNB are still to be elucidated. In this study, we evaluated regional recurrence rates and predictors of regional recurrences in patients with negative SLNB. Methods: Between January 2001 and December 2012, 1,322 patients with clinical node-negative invasive breast cancer less than 3cm underwent SLNB at Keio University Hospital. Of 1,322 patients with SLNB, 1,033 patients with negative SLNs were included in this study. Sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) were detected using a combined method of blue dye and small-sized technetium-99m-labeled tin colloid. Intraoperative frozen examination was performed with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. SLNs, fixed and embedded in paraffin, were additionally diagnosed with HE staining and immunohistochemical analysis. Results: Median age was 57.0 years (range, 25-89) and median tumor size was 1.9cm (range, 0.5-6.0cm). After a median follow-up of 54.8 months, there were 13 regional (1.3%) and 26 distant recurrences (2.5%). Median disease-free interval of regional and distant recurrences was 32.6 and 22.7 months, respectively (p=0.761). Higher nuclear grade (NG) was significantly correlated with regional and distant recurrences (p=0.001 and p=0.008). The rate of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) was significantly higher in patients with regional recurrences comparing with patients without recurrences (58.3% vs. 27.6%, p=0.026), however LVI was not a significant predictor of distant recurrences (p=0.072). Estrogen receptor negativity was significantly correlated with distant recurrences (p=0.013), whereas it was not associated with regional recurrences (p=0.626). Conclusions: Regional recurrences were rare in early-stage breast cancer patients with negative SLNB. LVI and NG can be used as predictive factors of regional recurrences after negative SLNB.


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