scholarly journals Testing the Feasibility of Intra-Operative Sentinel Lymph Node Touch Imprint Cytology

2009 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 336-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Hamidian Jahromi ◽  
Sankaran Narayanan ◽  
Fiona MacNeill ◽  
Peter Osin ◽  
Ashutash Nerurkar ◽  
...  

INTRODUCTION Sentinel lymph node biopsy is emerging as the new standard for axillary staging in breast cancer. Intra-operative assessment of the sentinel lymph nodes allows immediate completion of axillary dissection during the same anaesthetic. This project was a quality assurance practice to establish feasibility, time-to-report, as well as accuracy of performing intra-operative assessment of sentinel lymph nodes using touch imprint cytology in our centre. PATIENTS AND METHODS This prospective audit included 146 sentinel lymph nodes from 74 consecutive patients with invasive breast cancer. All patients underwent axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy using combined blue dye and radiocolloid technique. Results of intra-operative touch imprint cytology using haematoxylin and eosin staining were compared with the definitive histopathology results. RESULTS Mean time to report touch imprint cytology was 25.7 ± 6.4 min (range, 15–40 min). Histopathology demonstrated metastasis in 25 sentinel nodes from 17 (23%) patients. Intra-operative touch imprint cytology detected 15 nodes in 11 patients, giving a sensitivity of 60% (nodes) and 66.7% (patients) and specificity of 99.2% (nodes) and 98.2% (patients) based on the number of nodes and patients involved, respectively. Touch imprint cytology failed to show metastatic involvement in 10 nodes from 6 patients; of these, five nodes had micrometastasis (< 2 mm) and the other five had macrometastasis. One touch imprint cytology positive node contained isolated tumour cells only. Using intra-operative touch imprint cytology made a change in treatment of 11(14.9%) patients, and spared second axillary procedure in 7 (9.4%) patients. CONCLUSIONS Intra-operative sentinel lymph node assessment using touch imprint cytology is feasible within a busy NHS practice. We now offer touch imprint cytology to patients following appropriate counselling.

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-200
Author(s):  
Tatjana Ivkovic-Kapicl ◽  
Ferenc Vicko ◽  
Milana Panjkovic ◽  
Zoran Radovanovic ◽  
Tijana Vasiljevic ◽  
...  

Background/Aim. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has been established as the standard of care for axillary staging in patients with invasive breast carcinoma and clinically negative lymph nodes. Intraoperative assessment of sentinel lymph nodes might be done by frozen section (FS), touch imprint cytology (TIC) and one step nucleic acid amplification. The aim of this study was to review our institution's results with SLN biopsy using TIC and FS technique as intraoperative diagnostic tool for breast cancer patients. Methods. SLNs from 101 patients were examined intraoperatively by frozen hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) stain and by touch imprint cytology. Results of TIC were compared with FS and permanent histology sections. Results. The total number of dissected SLNs was 163 with a mean of 1.6 (1?4) per patient. The permanent H&E identified 19 (19%) patients with a sentinel lymph node metastasis and 82 (81%) patients with tumor-free sentinel nodes. The sensitivity/ specificity rates were 73.7%/99.3%, respectively for TIC and 84.2%/100%, respectively for FS. Relevant positive/ negative predictive values were 93.3%/96.6%, respectively for TIC and 100%/97.9%, respectively for FS. Conclusion. Our experience with TIC and FS for the intraoperative evaluation of SLNs is similar to the findings from previously reported studies. We detected the high specificity for both methods, but TIC technique appeared to be less sensitive than FS in detecting SLN metastases in breast cancer patients. TIC could be recommended as reasonable alternative to frozen section due to its simplicity and low cost.


2020 ◽  
Vol 184 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-343
Author(s):  
J. Michael Dixon ◽  
Julia Grewar ◽  
Dominique Twelves ◽  
Ashley Graham ◽  
Carlos Martinez-Perez ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The goal of sentinel lymph node biopsy is to establish the presence or absence of cancer cells in regional axillary nodes. The number of sentinel nodes harvested from each patient varies. The aim of this study was to determine what factors influence the number of sentinel nodes excised at sentinel node biopsy. Methods Data from 426 patients with breast cancer who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy at the Edinburgh Breast Unit by 10 different experienced breast surgeons were included in this analysis. Univariate and multivariable statistical analysis was performed. Results In the multivariate analysis the number of sentinel nodes biopsied varied significantly between operating surgeon (p < 0.0001) and was also statistically associated with the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p < 0.0001) and with the number of involved lymph nodes (p < 0.0001). More nodes were removed in patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and had metastases in sentinel lymph nodes. Conclusions This study shows that the surgeon plays a pivotal and significant role in determining the numbers of sentinel nodes removed by sentinel lymph node biopsy. Surgeons should monitor their own data on the average numbers of sentinel nodes they remove. Some surgeons may not be removing sufficient numbers of sentinel nodes to maintain a low false negative rate for this procedure.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Jose Antonio Jimenez-Heffernan ◽  
Mariel Valdivia-Mazeyra ◽  
Patricia Muñoz-Hernández ◽  
Consuelo López-Elzaurdia

Introduction: Multinucleated giant cells (MGC) are a rare finding when evaluating axillary sentinel lymph nodes. Some are described as foreign body-type MGC accompanied by foamy macrophages. They have been rarely reported in nodes from patients in which a previous breast biopsy was performed. The tissue damage induced by biopsy results in secondary changes including fat necrosis and hemorrhage that can migrate to axillary nodes. In this report, we illustrate a lipogranulomatous reaction in cytologic samples obtained during a sentinel lymph node examination of a woman previously biopsied because of breast carcinoma. We have found no previous cytologic descriptions and consider it an interesting finding that should be known to avoid diagnostic misinterpretations. Case: A 51-year-old woman underwent mastectomy of the right breast with a sentinel lymph node biopsy at our medical center. One month before, a control mammography revealed suspicious microcalcifications and a vacuum-assisted breast biopsy resulted in a diagnosis of high-grade intraductal carcinoma with comedonecrosis. Surgery with a sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed. The sentinel node was processed as an intraoperative consultation. Frozen sections and air-dried Diff-Quik stained samples were obtained. They showed abundant lymphocytes with MGC and tumoral cells. MGC showed ample cytoplasm with evident vacuoles of variable size. Occasional hemosiderin-laden macrophages were also present. The complete histologic analysis and immunohistochemical studies revealed no malignant cells. Histologic analysis showed, in subcapsular location, occasional MGC phagocyting lipid droplets. Hemosiderin-laden macrophages were a common finding. Conclusion: Lipogranulomas may appear at axillary sentinel lymph nodes because of fat necrosis induced by previous breast biopsy. The most important consideration is not confounding MGC with epithelial cell clusters. This can occur with not well-processed samples, especially if unmounted.


2006 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Cecchi ◽  
Cataldo De Gaudio ◽  
Lauro Buralli ◽  
Stefania Innocenti

Aims and Background Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy provide important prognostic data in patients with early stage melanoma and are crucial in guiding the management of the tumor. We report our experience with lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy in a group of patients with primary cutaneous melanoma and discuss recent concepts and controversies on its use. Patients and Methods A total of 111 patients with stage I-II AJCC primary cutaneous melanoma underwent lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy from December 1999 through December 2004 using a standardized technique of preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and biopsy guided by blue dye injection in addition to a hand-held gamma probe. After removal, sentinel lymph nodes were submitted to serial sectioning and permanent preparations for histological and immunohistochemical examination. Complete lymph node dissection was performed only in patients with tumor-positive sentinel lymph nodes. Results Sentinel lymph nodes were identified and removed in all patients (detection rate of 100%), and metastases were found in 17 cases (15.3%). The incidence of metastasis in sentinel lymph nodes was 2.1%, 15.9%, 35.2%, and 41.6% for melanomas < or 1.0, 1.01-2.0, 2.01-4.0, and > 4.0 mm in thickness, respectively. Complete lymph node dissection was performed in 15 of 17 patients with positive sentinel lymph nodes, and metastases in non-sentinel lymph nodes were detected in only 2 cases (11.7%). Recurrences were more frequently observed in patients with a positive than in those with negative sentinel lymph node (41.1% vs 5.3% at a median follow-up of 31.5 months, P<0.001). The false-negative rate was 2.1%. Conclusions Our study confirms that lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy allow accurate staging and yield relevant prognostic information in patients with early stage melanoma.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document