Axillary lymph node status in breast cancer staging: What patient and tumor factors affect the accuracy of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration?

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1126-1126
Author(s):  
Celin Chacko ◽  
Beatriu Reig ◽  
Tova Koenigsberg

1126 Background: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the accuracy of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) of axillary lymph nodes(ALNs) in patients with breast cancer and to determine factors that influence accuracy of ultrasound-guided FNA. Methods: Retrospective review of patients with breast cancer who had FNA of ALNs as well as sentinel lymph node excision or complete axillary dissection. Patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy were excluded. 55 axillary FNAs in 54 patients were included in the final analysis. Pathology reports were reviewed for size of the primary tumor, FNA results, number of positive ALNs, and greatest tumor size in ALNs. FNA was performed if a suspicious lymph node was identified. Surgical sentinel lymph node biopsy or full axillary dissection were the reference standard. Micrometastases (< 0.2 mm) and isolated tumor cells in the lymph node were included in the negative group. Atypical and nondiagnostic FNA results were considered negative cytologic results. Significance was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test. Results: Size of the primary cancer ranged from 0.3 mm to 8.5 cm. The sensitivity of FNA was 73%, with positive predictive value of 97% and negative predictive value of 52%. The NPV of FNA for primary tumors <1 cm, 1.1-2, 2.1-5 and >5 cm is 100%, 36%, 50% and 66% respectively. Correlation of primary tumor size with sensitivity of FNA was not statistically significant. The sensitivity of FNA for lymph nodes with metastatic deposit < 5mm, 6-10mm, 11-15mm, 16-20mm, and 21mm+ is 0%, 57%, 59%, 89%, and 100%, which is statistically significant (p = 0.007). The number of positive ALNs at axillary dissection is not correlated to the sensitivity of FNA. The sensitivity of FNA for 1-3, 4-9 and 10+ positive ALNs is 78%, 64% and 80%. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that FNA of suspicious axillary lymph nodes is valuable even in small tumors, which differs from the literature. The overall negative predictive value of FNA is 52%, so sentinel lymph node biopsy is essential after negative FNA. Sensitivity of FNA increases with the size of the metastatic deposit in the lymph node, but is not correlated to the number of positive ALNs found at dissection.

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12028-e12028
Author(s):  
Y. A. Alabdulkarim ◽  
E. Nassif

e12028 Background: Evaluating the axillary lymph nodes is extremely important in the management of breast cancer, with the recent improvement in histopathology techniques detection of micro-metastasis and even isolated cancer cells (ITC) in a setting of sentinel lymph node examination is feasible. In this study we aim to compare the outcome and significance of; positive SLN for macro versus Micro-metastasis, and ITCs. Methods: We reviewed all the patients who had SLN for breast cancer of stage T 1–2 between April 2006 and November 2008. Identifying all those who had positive macro-metastasis, micro-metastasis, or isolated tumor cells, pathology results of the full axillary LN dissection was evaluated for each type. Results: 350 patients had SLN of these 226 had a disease of T1–2, thirty seven patients (16.3%) had full axillary dissection, of these 27/37 had positive SLN for macro-metastasis, six had micro-metastasis and 3/37 had only ITCs. The presence of other LN metastasis was detected in 8 cases (21.6%); all of them were in the macro-metastasis group. No metastasis was found in either the micro-metastasis or the ITC groups. The ITC was only detected with DCIS; while micro-metastasis was present in DCIS or IDC. No relation was identified between the histopathology grade with ITC or micro-metastasis. Conclusions: Our findings did not show any presence of lymphatic metastasis after full axillary dissection, in case of positive micro-metastasis or ITCs in SLN, compared to the group of macro-metastasis. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 583-590
Author(s):  
Marlen Pajcini ◽  
Irene Wapnir ◽  
Jacqueline Tsai ◽  
Joanne Edquilang ◽  
Wendy DeMartini ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To describe tattoo ink marking of axillary lymph nodes (TIMAN) and the elements leading to successful removal at sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). Methods An IRB-approved retrospective image review was conducted of breast cancer patients who underwent SLNB after TIMAN from February 2013 to August 2017, noting patient and tattooed lymph node (TLN) features, initial biopsy type, time to surgery, if the TLN was identified at surgery, and correlation with the SLN. Cases were divided into two groups: the presurgical group, which had primary surgery, and the pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) group, which underwent surgery after completing NACT. Results Of 30 patients who underwent 32 TIMAN procedures, 10 (33.3%) were presurgical and 20 (66.7%) were pre-NACT. The average lymph node (LN) depth from the skin was 1.6 cm, with an average of 0.3 mL of tattoo ink injected. Of 32 procedures, 29 (90.6%) had US images demonstrating the injection. Of these, 10 (34.5%) were injected in the LN cortex surface and 19 (65.5%) in the middle cortex. Seven (24.1%) were injected in the LN lateral aspect, 12 (41.4%) in the mid aspect, and 10 (34.5%) in the medial aspect. Of 32 LNs, 28 (87.5%) were tattooed immediately after initial biopsy and 4 (12.5%) at a later date. At SLNB, all 32 (100%) TLNs were identified, all correlated with the SLN, and 10 (31.3%) were positive for cancer. Conclusion Using an average of 0.3 mL of tattoo ink, all TLNs were successfully identified for removal at surgery, despite variability in LN and injection factors.


2001 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 316-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahab F Abdessalam ◽  
Emmanuel E Zervos ◽  
Manju Prasad ◽  
William B Farrar ◽  
Lisa D Yee ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Donovan ◽  
Armando E Giuliano

The management of the axilla in breast cancer has shifted from axillary dissection in all patients to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) alone for most patients, including patients with sentinel lymph node metastases. Although important to clinical staging, physical examination alone does not accurately predict axillary metastasis. There are some circumstances where SLNB is contraindicated or should be used with caution. The impact of SLNB after neoadjuvant chemotherapy remains unproven, but its use is reasonable for some patients. Patients with tumor-free sentinel lymph nodes or nodes with micrometastatic disease require no further axillary surgery. Most patients with one to three lymph nodes positive for macrometastatic disease who undergo segmental mastectomy and radiation do not require an axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). There has not been a dramatic increase in axillary recurrence or a decrease in survival with the decreased use of ALND. In the future, with improvements in genomic analysis, ALND and even SLNB may be even less important in local control and prognosis.  This review contains 9 figures, 7 tables and 52 references.  Key words: ACOSOG Z0011, axilla, axillary dissection, axillary radiation, breast cancer, macrometastasis, micrometastasis, sentinel lymph node biopsy 


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Donovan ◽  
Armando E Giuliano

The management of the axilla in breast cancer has shifted from axillary dissection in all patients to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) alone for most patients, including patients with sentinel lymph node metastases. Although important to clinical staging, physical examination alone does not accurately predict axillary metastasis. There are some circumstances where SLNB is contraindicated or should be used with caution. The impact of SLNB after neoadjuvant chemotherapy remains unproven, but its use is reasonable for some patients. Patients with tumor-free sentinel lymph nodes or nodes with micrometastatic disease require no further axillary surgery. Most patients with one to three lymph nodes positive for macrometastatic disease who undergo segmental mastectomy and radiation do not require an axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). There has not been a dramatic increase in axillary recurrence or a decrease in survival with the decreased use of ALND. In the future, with improvements in genomic analysis, ALND and even SLNB may be even less important in local control and prognosis.  This review contains 9 figures, 7 tables and 52 references.  Key words: ACOSOG Z0011, axilla, axillary dissection, axillary radiation, breast cancer, macrometastasis, micrometastasis, sentinel lymph node biopsy 


2021 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  

Introduction: The role of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is currently under discussion. The aim of our study was to determine the false negativity rate (FNR) of SLNB, the accuracy of ultrasound examination in the evaluation of the status of lymph nodes and the accuracy of perioperative cryobiopsy of the sentinel lymph node (SLN). Methods: Prospective multicentre study, which took place in years 2018−2020 at three centres in the Czech Republic. A total of 59 patients were evaluated. Results: The FNR of SLNB in the group of patients with cN1 before NAC and ycN0 after NAC was 12.5%. The FNR of perioperative histological examination of the SLN was 38.5%. The FNR of ultrasound examination of axillary lymph nodes in patients after NAC was 35.5%, and the false positivity rate was 16.7%. The incidence of inflammatory complications in our cohort was 3.3%. Conclusion: The FNR of SLNB in the group of patients with cN1 before NAC and ycN0 after NAC exceeds the tolerable limit of 10%. The FNR of perioperative histological examination of the SLN is high; definitive histological examination of the SLN may change the original diagnostic-therapeutic plan. Ultrasound examination of the axillary lymph nodes in patients after NAC is a method with high false negativity and positivity and may not correspond with the perioperative finding. The incidence of inflammatory complications in our cohort in patients after NAC is comparable to literature data on the frequency of complications in patients without NAC.


2000 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Paolo de Rubeis ◽  
Alberto Bafile ◽  
Valter Resta ◽  
Roberto Vicentini

The authors report their experience gathered from December 1998 to December 1999 in the use of the sentinel lymph node (SN) method in breast cancer treatment. In 20 out of 21 cases (95%) localization of the SN was obtained by scintigraphy while in 19 cases (90.5%) the SN was found during surgery. Histological examination of the axillary lymph nodes gave a 95% accuracy with only one negative SN associated with positive axillary lymph nodes out of a total of 19. However, the authors have subjected all patients to a complete three-level axillary dissection since they believe the method applied has not yet been fully validated.


Author(s):  
Ankur Garg ◽  
Udbhav Kathpalia ◽  
Shweta Bansal ◽  
Manoj Andley ◽  
Sudipta Saha

Background : Locally advanced breast carcinoma (LABC) includes a wide range of clinical scenarios- advanced primary tumors (T4), advanced nodal disease and inflammatory carcinomas(1). Traditionally, treatment of LABC included a combination of Chemotherapy, Radiation and Surgery(2). However, there has been a shift to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in recent times.(3) Histological status and the number of axillary lymph nodes with metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors and most powerful predictor of recurrence and survival in patients of breast carcinoma and remains so, even after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. (3) Information derived from the sentinel lymph node is considered valuable, with less discomfort to the patient when compared with axillary dissection.(4) However, its role in detecting nodal metastasis after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in LABC is still debatable and definitive studies to evaluate its role are still evolving. (5) Materials and Methods: Patients of LABC were evaluated using ultrasonography (USG) of axilla. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) was administered and patients were reassessed by USG of axilla. Thirty patients with node negative axillary status were subjected to Sentinel lymph node mapping using isosulfan blue followed by Modified Radical Mastectomy and Axillary Lymph Node Dissection. Histopathological evaluation of stained and unstained lymph nodes done and the data, thus obtained, was statistically analysed.   Results: Sentinel lymph node biopsy performed using Isosulfan Blue dye alone, after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy predicts the status of axillary lymph nodes with low accuracy.   Conclusions: Further studies would be required to establish the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with LABC after NACT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi’E Hu ◽  
Jingyi Xue ◽  
Shujia Peng ◽  
Ping Yang ◽  
Zhenyu Yang ◽  
...  

BackgroundSentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is feasible for breast cancer (BC) patients with clinically negative axillary lymph nodes; however, complications develop in some patients after surgery, although SLN metastasis is rarely found. Previous predictive models contained parameters that relied on postoperative data, thus limiting their application in the preoperative setting. Therefore, it is necessary to find a new model for preoperative risk prediction for SLN metastasis to help clinicians facilitate individualized clinical decisions.Materials and MethodsBC patients who underwent SLN biopsy in two different institutions were included in the training and validation cohorts. Demographic characteristics, preoperative tumor pathological features, and ultrasound findings were evaluated. Multivariate logistic regression was used to develop the nomogram. The discrimination, accuracy, and clinical usefulness of the nomogram were assessed using Harrell’s C-statistic and ROC analysis, the calibration curve, and the decision curve analysis, respectively.ResultsA total of 624 patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled, including 444 in the training cohort and 180 in the validation cohort. Young age, high BMI, high Ki67, large tumor size, indistinct tumor margins, calcifications, and an aspect ratio ≥1 were independent predictive factors for SLN metastasis of BC. Incorporating these parameters, the nomogram achieved a robust predictive performance with a C-index and accuracy of 0.92 and 0.85, and 0.82 and 0.80 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. The calibration curves also fit well, and the decision curve analysis revealed that the nomogram was clinically useful.ConclusionsWe established a nomogram to preoperatively predict the risk of SLN metastasis in BC patients, providing a non-invasive approach in clinical practice and serving as a potential tool to identify BC patients who may omit unnecessary SLN biopsy.


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