Outcomes of sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer in British Columbia, 1996 to 2001.

Background: This study evaluated the outcomes of the first 5 years of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in British Columbia (BC), Canada, 1996 to 2001.

Methods: There were 547 SNB procedures for breast cancer performed by 29 surgeons at 12 hospitals in BC between October 1996 and July 2001. Identification, accuracy, and false-negative rates were determined and correlated to patient, tumor, and surgical factors with the chi-square test.