Evolution in sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard of care for axillary staging in clinically node-negative (cN0) breast cancer patients without neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The application of SLNB in patients receiving NAC has also been explored. Evidence supports its use after NAC in pretreatment cN0 patients. Nonetheless, its routine use in all the pretreatment node-positive patients who become cN0 after NAC is unjustified due to the unacceptably high false-negative rate, which can be improved in a subset of patients.

Source: Critical Reviews in Oncology Hematology - September 20, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Si-Qi Qiu, Guo-Jun Zhang, Liesbeth Jansen, Jakob de Vries, Carolien P. Schr öder, Elisabeth G.E. de Vries, Gooitzen M. van Dam Tags: Review Source Type: research