Lymph Node Biopsy In Patients Research Articles

Combined Fluorescein and Methylene Blue Dye for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients of Early Carcinoma Breast: A Promising Technique

Combined Fluorescein and Methylene Blue Dye for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients of Early Carcinoma Breast: A Promising Technique

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with breast cancer ycT4N0M0 after neoadjuvant drug therapy

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is an effective clarifying diagnostic method that is actively used in various malignancies, including breast cancer. The effectiveness of this method has led to a potential expansion of the standard indications for its use. This article is devoted to the study of the effectiveness of sentinel lymph node biopsy based on world literature data regarding the use of ycT4N0M0 in patients with breast cancer after neoadjuvant drug therapy.

Abstract PO3-12-09: De-Escalating Extent of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ Undergoing Mastectomy

Abstract Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLNB) biopsy for axillary staging in patients (pts) with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) undergoing mastectomy is debated due to low positivity rate and potential morbidity. Standard SLNB entails removing all LNs with a radioactive count >10% of the most radioactive node, contain blue dye or are palpably suspicious. In this study, we hypothesize that judicious SLNB with attempt to remove only the SLN with the highest radioactive count provides sufficient pathologic information while minimizing morbidity. Method: A single institution prospective database was retrospectively reviewed to identify women with core biopsy showing DCIS (cTis) who underwent mastectomy and SLNB between 2010–22. Pt characteristics, number of SLNs retrieved, pathologic results and long-term upper extremity complications were collected. Results: A total of 743 LN's were removed in 324 pts. Median [IQR] age was 62 [51–70] years. Dual tracer technique, with Technetium-99m labeled radiocolloid and blue dye, was used in 311 (96%) pts, whereas single agent (radioisotope or blue dye alone) was utilized in 9 (2.8%) and 4 (1.2%) pts respectively. Median [IQR] number of SLN removed was 2 [1-3] (range 1-9). In 99% of cases, the SLN with the highest radioactive count was identified among the first 3 dissected LNs. Final pathology revealed upstaging to invasive cancer in 27.5% (n=89) of the breasts and nodal positivity in 1.9% (n=6) of the patients. In all 6 cases, metastatic disease was identified in the LN with highest radioactive count among the LNs retrieved. No additional metastatic nodes were identified after >3 SLN had been removed. At median follow-up of 57 (range 28-87) months, 8.3% (n=27) of pts complained of long-term upper extremity symptoms. 7.1% (23 pts) were referred to physical therapy for symptoms such as swelling, fullness, heaviness, stiffness or sensory discomfort in the upper extremity and/or axillary cording. Long-term upper extremity complications were higher when >3 SLNs compared to <3 SLNs were removed (10.4% vs 6.5%, p=0.005). Conclusion: In this cohort of pts with DCIS (cTis) undergoing mastectomy who had upstaging on final pathology to invasive cancer with LN involvement, the SLN with the highest radioactive count provided sufficient information for axillary staging. Acknowledging that the “hottest” LN is not always the first one removed, these data support an increased likelihood of developing long-term complications when more than three SLNs are removed. Rather than comprehensive removal of all SLNs meeting the standard “10% rule,” prioritizing the sequence of removal to the highest count provides the same prognostic information with reduced morbidity. Patient and lymph node characteristics Citation Format: Adil Ayub, Kazim Senol, Makris Eleftherios, Michael Cowher, Ronald Johnson, Kristin Lupinacci, Qurat Ul Ain Sabih, Jennifer Steiman, Emilia Diego, Priscilla McAuliffe, Atilla Soran. De-Escalating Extent of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ Undergoing Mastectomy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO3-12-09.

Abstract PS01-01: Feasibility and oncological safety of targeted axillary dissection or sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with clinically node-positive disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the prospective MF-1803 NEOSENTITURK-study

Abstract PS01-01: Feasibility and oncological safety of targeted axillary dissection or sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with clinically node-positive disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the prospective MF-1803 NEOSENTITURK-study

What is the role for sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients over 70 with T1 early breast cancer?

What is the role for sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients over 70 with T1 early breast cancer?

A study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial investigating videoendoscopic radical inguinal lymphadenectomy versus open radical inguinal lymphadenectomy in patients with penile cancer (VELRAD).

Penile cancer is a rare male genital malignancy. Surgical excision of the primary tumour is followed by radical inguinal lymphadenectomy if there is metastatic disease detected by biopsy, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) or following sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with impalpable disease. However, radical inguinal lymphadenectomy is associated with a high morbidity rate, and there is increasing usage of a videoendoscopic approach as an alternative. A pragmatic, UK-wide multicentre feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT), comparing videoendoscopic radical inguinal lymphadenectomy versus open radical inguinal lymphadenectomy. Patients will be identified and recruited from supraregional multi-disciplinary team meetings (sMDT) and must be aged 18 or over requiring inguinal lymphadenectomy, with no contraindications to surgical intervention for their cancer. Participants will be followed up for 6 months following randomisation. The primary outcome is the ability to recruit patients for randomisation across all selected sites and the rate of loss to follow-up. Other outcomes include acceptability of the trial and intervention to patients and healthcare professionals assessed by qualitative research and obtaining resource utilisation information for health economic analysis. There are currently no other published RCTs comparing videoendoscopic versus open radical inguinal lymphadenectomy. Ongoing study is required to determine whether randomising patients to either procedure is feasible and acceptable to patients. The results of this study may determine the design of a subsequent trial. Clinicaltrials.gov PRS registry, registration number NCT05592639. Date of registration: 13th October 2022, retrospectively registered.

Development and validation of a novel model to predict recurrence-free survival and melanoma-specific survival after sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with melanoma: an international, retrospective, multicentre analysis

The introduction of adjuvant systemic treatment for patients with high-risk melanomas necessitates accurate staging of disease. However, inconsistencies in outcomes exist between disease stages as defined by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (8th edition). We aimed to develop a tool to predict patient-specific outcomes in people with melanoma rather than grouping patients according to disease stage. Patients older than 13 years with confirmed primary melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) between Oct 29, 1997, and Nov 11, 2013, at four European melanoma centres (based in Berlin, Germany; Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Warsaw, Poland) were included in the development cohort. Potential predictors of recurrence-free and melanoma-specific survival assessed were sex, age, presence of ulceration, primary tumour location, histological subtype, Breslow thickness, sentinel node status, number of sentinel nodes removed, maximum diameter of the largest sentinel node metastasis, and Dewar classification. A prognostic model and nomogram were developed to predict 5-year recurrence-free survival on a continuous scale in patients with stage pT1b or higher melanomas. This model was also calibrated to predict melanoma-specific survival. Model performance was assessed by discrimination (area under the time-dependent receiver operating characteristics curve [AUC]) and calibration. External validation was done in a cohort of patients with primary melanomas who underwent SLNB between Jan 30, 1997, and Dec 12, 2013, at the Melanoma Institute Australia (Sydney, NSW, Australia). The development cohort consisted of 4071 patients, of whom 2075 (51%) were female and 1996 (49%) were male. 889 (22%) had sentinel node-positive disease and 3182 (78%) had sentinel node-negative disease. The validation cohort comprised 4822 patients, of whom 1965 (41%) were female and 2857 (59%) were male. 891 (18%) had sentinel node-positive disease and 3931 (82%) had sentinel node-negative disease. Median follow-up was 4·8 years (IQR 2·3-7·8) in the development cohort and 5·0 years (2·2-8·9) in the validation cohort. In the development cohort, 5-year recurrence-free survival was 73·5% (95% CI 72·0-75·1) and 5-year melanoma-specific survival was 86·5% (85·3-87·8). In the validation cohort, the corresponding estimates were 66·1% (64·6-67·7) and 83·3% (82·0-84·6), respectively. The final model contained six prognostic factors: sentinel node status, Breslow thickness, presence of ulceration, age at SLNB, primary tumour location, and maximum diameter of the largest sentinel node metastasis. In the development cohort, for the model's prediction of recurrence-free survival, the AUC was 0·80 (95% CI 0·78-0·81); for prediction of melanoma-specific survival, the AUC was 0·81 (0·79-0·84). External validation showed good calibration for both outcomes, with AUCs of 0·73 (0·71-0·75) and 0·76 (0·74-0·78), respectively. Our prediction model and nomogram accurately predicted patient-specific risk probabilities for 5-year recurrence-free and melanoma-specific survival. These tools could have important implications for clinical decision making when considering adjuvant treatments in patients with high-risk melanomas. Erasmus Medical Centre Cancer Institute.

Comparative study using indocyanine green and patent blue dye for sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer

ackgroundLymphatic involvement is the most important prognostic factor in early-stage cervical cancer. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a viable alternative to systematic lymphadenectomy and may identify metastases more precisely.ObjectiveTo compare...

The Role of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

The Role of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Targeted lymphadenectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with breast cancer cT1-3N1M0 after neoadjuvant polychemotherapy

Targeted lymphadenectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with breast cancer cT1-3N1M0 after neoadjuvant polychemotherapy

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with breast cancer. Experience in implementing at the regional level. Priority issues

Background. Despite the fact that sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in breast cancer patients has become a routine diagnostic procedure, it is still of great interest to researchers, since the priority issues of choosing methodology, equipment, technology, and stages of use are still being discussed. Although all obstacles to this technique implementation into routine clinical practice have been eliminated, SLNB in locally advanced breast cancer is still rarely used. We describe the experience of implementing SLNB in Nizhny Novgorod Regional Clinical Oncology Dispensary. We also discuss organizational, tactical, and practical approaches aimed to minimize the number of errors in technical terms, as well as to choose a multidisciplinary approach to the development of regulations for the examination and treatment of patients with locally advanced breast cancer.Aim. To assess the efficacy of SLNB implementation for patients with locally advanced breast cancer at the regional level.Materials and methods. This study included 500 patients with invasive (T1–2) breast cancer with clinically negative sentinel lymph nodes of all immunohistochemical subtypes that had undergone SLNB and histological examination. Sentinel lymph nodes were visualized using the radioisotope colloid 99mTc-Nanotop. We present the implementation algorithm for this procedure into routine clinical practice and evaluate short-term results.Results. A total of 500 patients have undergone SLNB. The first 30 cases were considered pilot cases, where all patients positive for sentinel lymph nodes additionally underwent standard axillary lymph node dissection. We observed a 100 % concordance of histological results. Then the surgery was routinely performed for all patients from this category. The assessment of short-term surgical outcomes demonstrated significant improvement of the postoperative period, reduced frequency of postoperative complications (persistent seroma of the axillary area to 2.85 %), reduced length of hospital stay (by 52.7 %) and improved functional and aesthetic results in the majority (>62 %) of patients.Conclusion. Our algorithm of SLNB use in patients with breast cancer in routine clinical practice at the regional level allows for rapid method implementation, reduced length of hospital stay, better functional and aesthetic results, and lower incidence of persistent seroma of the axillary area.

Personalized neck irradiation guided by sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, larynx or hypopharynx with a clinically negative neck: (Chemo)radiotherapy to the PRIMary tumor only. Protocol of the PRIMO study

BackgroundElective neck irradiation (ENI) is performed in head and neck cancer patients treated with definitive (chemo)radiotherapy. The aim is to eradicate nodal metastases that are not detectable by pretreatment imaging techniques. It is conceivable that personalized neck irradiation can be performed guided by the results of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). It is expected that ENI can be omitted to one or both sides of the neck in 9 out of 10 patients, resulting in less radiation side effects with better quality of life. Methods/designThis is a multicenter randomized controlled trial aiming to compare safety and efficacy of treatment with SLNB guided neck irradiation versus standard bilateral ENI in 242 patients with cN0 squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, larynx or hypopharynx for whom bilateral ENI is indicated. Patients randomized to the experimental-arm will undergo SLNB. Based on the histopathologic status of the SLNs, patients will receive no ENI (if all SLNs are negative), unilateral neck irradiation only (if a SLN is positive at one side of the neck) or bilateral neck irradiation (if SLNs are positive at both sides of the neck). Patients randomized to the control arm will not undergo SLNB but will receive standard bilateral ENI. The primary safety endpoint is the number of patients with recurrence in regional lymph nodes within 2 years after treatment. The primary efficacy endpoint is patient reported xerostomia-related quality of life at 6 months after treatment. DiscussionIf this trial demonstrates that the experimental treatment is non-inferior to the standard treatment in terms of regional recurrence and is superior in terms of xerostomia-related quality of life, this will become the new standard of care.

Clinical relevance of sentinel lymph node biopsy in early ovarian cancer.

The first-line treatment for early ovarian cancer typically involves primary debulking surgery aimed at maximal cytoreduction, alongside adjuvant chemotherapy if clinically indicated. Nodal assessment involving pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection is typically performed during the primary debulking surgery. However, the survival benefit of lymphadenectomy in patients with early ovarian cancer has not been well established, and the procedure is associated with longer operation time and higher perioperative complications. With the emergence of minimally invasive surgery as a potential alternative to laparotomy for early ovarian cancer, sentinel lymph node biopsy has been evaluated in this setting. In this review, we summarized the current literature regarding sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with early ovarian cancer, focusing on the clinical relevance of this method, including its detection rate and diagnostic accuracy. Additionally, we discuss the current status of clinical trials investigating sentinel lymph node biopsy in early ovarian cancer cases.

42330 Predictors of Receipt of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Malignant Cutaneous Adnexal Tumors

42330 Predictors of Receipt of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Malignant Cutaneous Adnexal Tumors

The role of imaging and sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with T3b-T4b melanoma with clinically negative disease.

Previous studies demonstrate minimal utility of pre-operative imaging for low-risk melanoma; however, imaging may be more critical for patients with high-risk disease. Our study evaluates the impact of peri-operative cross-sectional imaging in patients with T3b-T4b melanoma. Patients with T3b-T4b melanoma who underwent wide local excision were identified from a single institution (1/1/2005 - 12/31/2020). Cross-sectional imaging was defined as body CT, PET and/or MRI in the perioperative period, with the following findings: in-transit or nodal disease, metastatic disease, incidental cancer, or other. Propensity scores were created for the odds of undergoing pre-operative imaging. Recurrence free survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. A total of 209 patients were identified with a median age of 65 (IQR 54-76), of which the majority were male (65.1%), with nodular melanoma (39.7%) and T4b disease (47.9%). Overall, 55.0% underwent pre-operative imaging. There were no differences in imaging findings between the pre- and post-operative cohorts. After propensity-score matching, there was no difference in recurrence free survival. Sentinel node biopsy was performed in 77.5% patients, with 47.5% resulting in a positive result. Pre-operative cross-sectional imaging does not impact the management of patients with high-risk melanoma. Careful consideration of imaging use is critical in the management of these patients and highlights the importance of sentinel node biopsy for stratification and decision making.

Abstract P2-14-07: Omission of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Early Stage Breast Cancer: Looking Beyond the Choosing Wisely Guidelines for Age < 70

Abstract Background: The Surgical Society of Oncology Choosing Wisely Campaign for breast cancer advocates against the routine use of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for women ≥ 70 years with early stage estrogen positive (ER+), clinically node negative (cN0) disease, given the low likelihood of axillary involvement and axillary recurrence risk, absence of survival benefit and greater reliance on genomic testing for therapeutic decisions. We hypothesize that this practice may be extended to a younger cohort of patients. In this proof-of-concept feasibility study, we first sought to determine the incidence of node positive (N+) disease in our health system using natural language understanding (NLU) technology to extract relevant data from the electronic medical record (EMR). NLU of the clinical narrative has been proven to aid clinical decision support by extracting relevant information and can populate clinical databases to facilitate optimal population management strategies. The advantage of NLU over a cancer registry is the speed and efficiency of data extraction for a large number of patients in real time, plus the capture of data points not conventionally included in a registry. Methods: All patients with early stage ER+, cN0 breast cancer who had SLNB from January 2015-December 2017 were identified in an integrated academic health network comprised of 15 hospitals in Western Pennsylvania. Patitent clinical data were abstracted from the EMR using Realyze Intelligence™ NLU technology. The Realyze NLU pipeline uses a combination of machine learning algorithms and standard terminologies to create a breast cancer patient model that includes genomic, phenotypic, and clinical data. The pipeline gathers information from all data sources – structured and unstructured – and normalizes the information to create a complete model of patient clinical criteria. Realyze Information Models use clinical data formatting flexible enough to represent clinical disorders on a concept level as well as the encounter, patient, and population levels. A breast cancer model with focus on the lymph node identification, pathological as well as clinical tumor and node classification were developed and mapped to standard terminology. A Semantic Reasoning layer is provided by different mechanisms including a rule-based layer to render answers to the questions posed in this hypothesis. NLU performance was validated by manually verifying key clinical variables (i.e., clinical stage, pathologic stage, and nodal positivity) on a subset of patients. Statistical analysis to determine any difference in N+ rates by age was performed using Chi-square testing with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: We identified 602 pts with early stage ER+, cN0 breast cancer over this period who underwent SLNB. Average age was 59.6 years old. As a whole group, there was an increase in N+ rates as the stage increased (Table 1). When comparing incidence of N+ disease stratified by age (< 70 or >70), there was no difference in N+ rates across all stages. In addition, equally low rates of SLN positivity were seen for patients specifically with stage T1a and T1b disease. Conclusions: These data suggest that the Choosing Wisely recommendation to omit SLNB may be extended to a younger cohort of pts with ER+, cN0 disease, specifically those with stage T1a or T1b tumors. With low rates of N+ disease, and less reliance on axillary stage for treatment decision making, the harms of surgical axillary staging may outweigh the benefits. Future validation is needed with a larger sample size. Table 1 Citation Format: Neil Carleton, Gilan Saadawi, Steffi Oesterreich, ADRIAN V. LEE, Emilia Diego. Omission of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Early Stage Breast Cancer: Looking Beyond the Choosing Wisely Guidelines for Age < 70 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-14-07.

Comparison of single-pore non-liposuction near-infrared laparoscopy with conventional open surgery for axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with early breast cancer: a single-center, small-sample retrospective study

BackgroundThis study aimed to compare the effects of single-pore non-liposuction near-infrared (NIR) endoscopic surgery and traditional open surgery for axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with early breast cancer (EBC).MethodsThe clinical pathological data of 61 patients with EBC who underwent axillary SLNB using indocyanine green (ICG) combined with carbon nanoparticle suspension (CNS) were retrospectively collected. Thirty patients received SLNB through single-pore non-liposuction NIR endoscopic surgery (endoscopic group), and the remaining 31 received SLNB through open-incision surgery (open group). The success rate, operation time, volume of intraoperative bleeding, postoperative axillary drainage, axillary extubation time, and the occurrence of postoperative complications were compared between the groups along with the total number of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs), luminous SLNs, stained SLNs, and the pathological positivity rate of the SLNs.ResultsAll patients underwent SLNB with a 100% success rate. SLNB operation times of the endoscopic group were longer than those of the open group (t = 3.963, P = 0.000), and the volume of axillary drainage was inferior (t = 3.035, P = 0.004). However, there were no differences in the intraoperative bleeding volumes, axillary extubation times, and postoperative complications (P > 0.05). In the Open group, the mean number of SLNs was 5.12 ± 2.16, and the pathological positivity rate was 13.53%; in the Endoscopic group, these numbers were 4.89 ± 1.73 and 12.39%. The mean number of SLNs detected (t = 0.458, P = 0.649) and the pathological positivity rates (χ2 = 0.058, P = 0.810) did not differ between the two groups. All 61 patients were followed for a median of 14.6 months. There were no local recurrences or distant metastases.ConclusionsOur single-center results reveal that single-hole non-liposuction NIR endoscopic axillary SLNB is not inferior to open SLNB and may be an appropriate option for patients with early breast cancer who desire breast preservation with fewer incisions.Trial registrationThis retrospective study was “retrospectively registered” at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of South China University of Technology (no. 2020105) and in National Medical Research Registration and Archival Information System (https://www.medicalresearch.org.cn, number: MR-44-21-004727).

Indocyanine Green and Methylene Blue Dye Guided Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early Breast Cancer: A Single-Center Retrospective Survival Study in 1574 Patients

BackgroundCurrently, the standard tracing method is to use blue dyes and radioisotope as the tracer for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). However, there are variations in the choice of tracer in different countries and regions. Some new tracers are also gradually applied in clinical practice, but there is still a lack of long-term follow-up data to confirm their clinical application value. Patients and MethodsClinicopathological and postoperative treatment follow-up data were collected from patients with early-stage cTis-2N0M0 breast cancer who underwent SLNB using a dual-tracer method of ICG combined with MB. Statistical indicators including the identification rate, the number of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs), regional lymph node recurrence, disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. ResultsAmong the 1574 patients, SLNs were successfully detected during surgery in 1569 patients, with a detection rate of 99.7%; the median number of SLNs removed was 3. A total of 1531 patients were included in the survival analysis, with a median follow-up of 4.7 (0.5-7.9) years. In total, patients with positive SLNs had a 5-year DFS and OS of 90.6% and 94.7%, respectively. The 5-year DFS and OS of patients with negative SLNs were 95.6% and 97.3%, respectively. The postoperative regional lymph node recurrence rate was 0.7% in patients with negative SLNs. ConclusionIndocyanine green combined with methylene blue dual-tracer method is safe and effective in sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with early breast cancer.

Analysis of the histopathological findings of lymph node biopsies at a tertiary care centre

Background: Lymph nodes are spread throughout the body and are routinely checked for abnormalities. These lymph nodes have the potential to become infected or malignant. The swelling of lymph nodes and the nodes which are abnormal in terms of size and/or number is commonly known as lymphadenopathy. One of the most common causes of lymphadenopathy observed is reactive lymphadenitis followed by granulomatous lymphadenitis. For diagnosis of lymph node biopsies, excisional biopsy and histopathological analysis are considered as the ‘gold standard’. Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive and a cross-sectional study of all the patients with lymph node biopsies seen in Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute from January 2018 till March 2022. Histopathology reports of lymph node biopsies of patients required at Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute were included in the study. Results: The most common diagnosis is of tuberculous lymphadenitis which accounted for 251 (53.2%) of the total 469 cases. Tuberculous lymphadenitis was most commonly observed in females (68.92%) as compared to males (31.07%). Cancer cases which accounted for 83 (17.70%) cases formed the second most common diagnosis in which females (53.01%) accounted for most cases as compared to males (46.99%). Conclusions: Enlarged lymph nodes should undergo fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), truecut biopsy and/or excisional biopsy for correct diagnosis. The diagnostic spectrum ranges from benign reactive to TB and also malignancies.

The Oncologic Safety of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Node-Positive Breast Cancer with Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Single-Center Experience.

To evaluate the efficiency and safety of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with breast cancer with complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Ninety-two consecutive (T1-4 and N1-2) patients with breast cancer who had pathologic and/or clinical and radiologic axillary lymph node involvement were included. All patients received NAC. Patients with a clinical and radiologic complete response in the axilla after NAC underwent SLNB. Pathologic complete response (ypCR) was defined as the absence of residual invasive and in situ cancer, and near-complete response (ypNCR) represented in situ and/or ≤ 1 mm residual tumor in the breast and/or presence of malignant cell clusters (≤0.2 mm) and/or micrometastases (≤2.0 mm) in the axillary lymph nodes (ALN) (ypTis/T1mi, ypN0i+/pN1mi). The mean age of the 92 patients was 49.6 ± 10.3 years and the mean follow-up was 34.0 ± 17.8 months. With respect to breast tumors, 23 (25.0%) patients had complete and 14 (15.2%) had a near-complete response to NAC. Complete response in ALN was obtained in 39 (42.4%) patients and near-complete in six (6.5%) patients. The overall survival of the 33 patients who achieved ypCR and ypNCR was 100% and the remaining 59 patients with partial or no response to NAC was 83.1% at a mean follow-up of 34 months (p=0.063). In this study, no event developed in cases with ypCR and ypNCR in the breast and axilla. The persistence of the same results in long-termfollow-ups may enable the use of ypNCR as a positive prognostic marker in addition to ypCR.