Advanced diagnostic imaging of sentinel lymph node in early stage breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy has been regarded as the standard procedure for early staging breast cancer. One of the key steps is to locate the sentinel lymph node (SLN). The recommended method is the joint use of blue dye and radioisotope. However, due to radionuclide radiation and high cost, it is urgent to develop more convenient and sensitive imaging methods to accurately locate SLN. This article discusses the advancement of accurately locating SLN by isotope tracer imaging, magnetic tracer method, computed tomographic lymphography, and trans-lymphatic contrast-enhanced ultrasound, as well as proposing new propose for clinical diagnosis.