Measuring the quality of sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer using newly developed quality indicators: a feasibility study.

Background: Measurement of the quality of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has not been reported beyond the false-negative rate and sentinel lymph node identification rate. This study's purpose is to determine the feasibility of measuring 11 quality indicators (QIs) that were recently developed using a modified Delphi process.

Methods: All patients who underwent SLNB for breast cancer at a tertiary health-care center from January 1st 2005 to December 31st 2007 were identified using a SLNB registry.