Lymphoscintigraphy with peritumoral injection versus lymphoscintigraphy with subdermal periareolar injection of technetium-labeled human albumin to identify sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.

Background: Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy is without doubt a valid method for the detection of the sentinel lymph node (SLN). There has been considerable debate regarding the optimal site for the introduction of the tracer; various sites include peritumoral (PT), periareolar (PA), subdermal, and intradermal injection.

Purpose: To evaluate retrospectively the lymphoscintigraphic identification rate of peritumoral (PT) injection versus subdermal periareolar (PA) injection in the detection of SLNs in breast cancer.