Residual Axillary Metastases in Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients After Neoadjuvant Treatment: A Register-Based Study.

Background: Lymph node (LN) metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) generally warrants axillary lymph node dissection, which opposes guidelines of upfront surgery in many cases. We investigated the risk of having additional metastases in the axilla when the LNs removed by targeted axillary dissection (TAD) harbored metastases after NACT. We aimed to identify subgroups suitable for de-escalated axillary treatment.

Comparing Methods for Targeted Axillary Dissection in Breast Cancer Patients: A Nationwide, Retrospective Study.

Background: Several techniques exist for performing targeted axillary dissection (TAD) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the removal of the sentinel node and a marked metastatic lymph node (LN). Two-step methods include coil-marking of the metastatic LN at diagnosis and re-marking with an intraoperatively identifiable marker before surgery. Because nondetection of the marked lymph node (MLN) warrants axillary clearance and many patients achieve axillary pathological complete response (ax-pCR), the success of TAD is crucial.

Targeted Axillary Dissection with I Seed Placement Before Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in a Danish Multicenter Cohort.

Background: Targeted axillary dissection (TAD), with marking of the metastatic lymph node before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), is increasingly used for breast cancer axillary staging. In the case of axillary pathological complete response (ax-pCR), axillary lymph node clearance can be omitted. Several marking methods exist, most using re-marking before surgery.

[Christmas article: Unexpected complication during COVID-19 swabbing].

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic a vast number of oropharyngeal swabs have been sampled. A patient was referred to a surgical department after accidentially ingesting part of a testing swab. Since the swab posed a perforation risk, an urgent upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy was performed.