Abstract
Aims Our objective was to evaluate intraoperative sentinel node touch imprint cytology (IOSNTI) for breast cancer. Three hundred and fifty-five patients with invasive breast cancer (pT1 N0, lobular or ductal subtype) were included in our study. IOSNTI consists of touching glass slides to the surfaces of interest after gently pressing the spatially localized specimen, taken according to predetermined conditions, in order to perform a final histological examination consisting of H&E and immunohistochemical staining. Results The total sensitivity (Se) of IOSNTI was 36% and 15% of patients with nodal metastasis went undetected during the intraoperative examination. Sensitivity was significantly lower for the oldest patients (aged over 57 years: 25%), small tumors (smaller than 12 mm: 23.3%), lobular subtypes (8.3%), in the absence of vascular emboli (33%) and for detection of micrometastases (10%). Discussion This simple, fast and relatively inexpensive method could be combined with intraoperative molecular biology methods in populations in which cytology is less efficient and produces negative results.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
