Lymphatic mapping in patients with primary or recurrent breast cancer following previous axillary surgery.

Aims: To evaluate the feasibility of lymphatic mapping in breast cancer patients after previous axillary surgery and to identify parameters associated with mapping failure.

Methods: Lymphatic mapping using peritumoural injection of blue dye and a radiocolloid was attempted in 30 patients with primary (n=7) or recurrent (n=23) breast cancer and a history of previous axillary lymph node dissection or sentinel node biopsy.

Results: Lymphatic mapping identified a mean number of 1.

Central quadrantectomy with resection of the nipple-areola complex compared with mastectomy in patients with retroareolar breast cancer.

Appropriate surgery in women with retroareolar breast cancer should allow resection of the cancer with wide free margins and an acceptable cosmetic result. The aim of this study was to compare breast conservation surgery (BCS) to mastectomy for treatment of retroareolar breast cancer. In a prospective nonrandomized study, 69 women with retroareolar breast cancers underwent either central quadrantectomy (n=33) with complete removal of the nipple-areola complex or mastectomy (n=36).

Symmetrization reduction mammaplasty combined with sentinel node biopsy in patients operated for contralateral breast cancer.

Background And Objectives: Occult invasive cancer found in reduction mammaplasty specimen in the contralateral breast in breast cancer patients requires axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) to assess the lymph node status. Routine Sentinel node (SN) biopsy in these patients may avoid secondary ALND when an occult cancer is found and the SN is negative in the permanent histological examination.

Methods: One hundred sixty-nine breast cancer patients underwent contralateral reduction mammaplasty for symmetrization and with SN biopsy of the non-cancer breast.

Intraoperative frozen section examination of the sentinel lymph node in breast cancer.

Aim Of The Study: Intraoperative frozen section (FS) examination of the Sentinel node (SN) in breast cancer patients is questioned due to the relatively high number of positive SN(s) found in the permanent histological examination. This study reviews the data of the Austrian sentinel node study group on FS examination of the SN and tries to identify patients with a high risk of incorrect negative results.

Methods: 2326 breast cancer patients of the Austrian Sentinel node study group who underwent SN biopsy and intraoperative FS examination of the SN were further analysed for incorrect negative results and clinicopathologic factors indicating a higher rate of incorrect negative results.

Sentinel node biopsy performed before preoperative chemotherapy for axillary lymph node staging in breast cancer.

Sentinel node (SN) biopsy in breast cancer patients following preoperative chemotherapy is associated with a decreased identification rate and an increased false-negative rate when compared to SN biopsy performed in untreated patients. We performed SN biopsy in 21 breast cancer patients scheduled for preoperative chemotherapy using either vital blue dye alone (n = 11) or in combination with a radiocolloid (n = 10). Following a mean of four cycles of preoperative chemotherapy, surgery to the breast and complete axillary lymph node dissection was performed irrespective of the SN status.

Follow-up of sentinel node negative breast cancer patients without axillary lymph node dissection.

Background And Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients at our institution and to report the follow-up status of node-negative patients with removal of only the sentinel node.

Methods: A total of 247 breast cancer patients underwent sentinel node (SN) mapping between June of 1996 and September of 2000. The SN was identified by using a combination of vital blue dye and a radiolabeled colloid.