Sentinel node dissection as definitive treatment for node negative breast cancer patients

Aims: Negative sentinel node may predict tumour-free axillary nodes in breast cancer. We report the performance of sentinel node dissection at our Institution. Methods: We analysed data from 212 consecutive women with primary invasive breast tumours less than 3 cm in diameter and no axillary lymphadenopathy who underwent radioguided sentinel node dissection by means of ^99mTc-colloidal albumin between 1999 and 2002. Completion axillary node dissection was performed if sentinel nodes contained metastases or if no sentinel nodes were identified. Results: Sentinel nodes were identified in 207/212 of the patients. Fifty-seven patients had tumour-positive sentinel nodes. Only tumour diameter showed significant association with sentinel node status (p <0.000). Per-operative histologic evaluation had a sensitivity of 67.3% and a negative predictive value of 90.4%. No subset of sentinel node positive patients was identified for whom axillary node dissection could be safely avoided. No recurrences were detected at a median follow-up of 15 months. Conclusion: Radioguided sentinel node dissection offers a reliable way to assess nodal status in most breast cancer patients. In our experience, both preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and intraoperative histologic evaluation add useful information to the procedure.