Role of ultrasound-guided axillary fine-needle aspiration in the management of invasive breast cancer.

Background: Previous studies from Women & Infants' Hospital have reported the accuracy of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy examination of axillary lymph nodes (USFNAB) for locally advanced breast cancer. The aim of this article is to report our further experience with USFNAB in staging the axilla and determining its affect on management decisions.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data between January 1998 and June 2005.