Sentinel node biopsy with technetium-99m colloidal rhenium sulphide in patients with breast cancer.
BACKGROUND
Sentinel node biopsy is emerging as a technique to replace routine axillary lymph node dissection. The lymphatic mapping technique is still at a developmental stage and no standard technique exists. This study used technetium-99m colloidal rhenium sulphide with a mean particle size of 100 (range 50-200) nm for sentinel node mapping.


METHODS
Eighty-seven patients with breast cancer, but no clinical evidence of axillary metastasis, were studied. One day before operation technetium-99m colloidal rhenium sulphide was injected at four points into breast tissue surrounding the tumour. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed 2 h after injection, and surgery was usually performed after 20 h. A hand-held gamma probe guided sentinel node biopsy.


RESULTS
Lymphoscintigraphy revealed axillary hot spots in all patients. During operation, the sentinel node was identified in all 87 patients (100 per cent). The number of sentinel nodes per patient ranged from 1 to 5 (mean 2). Metastatic sentinel nodes were identified in 37 of 87 patients. There were no false negatives.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that technetium-99m rhenium sulphide is a suitable agent for sentinel node mapping in patients with breast cancer.
Watanabe
T
T
Department of Surgery 2 and Department of Radiology, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, 960-1295 Japan. tak@fmu.ac.jp
Kimijima
I
I
Ohtake
T
T
Tsuchiya
A
A
Shishido
F
F
Takenoshita
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012211:Rhenium; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid
C030406:technetium Tc rhenium-sulfur colloid; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid; D012211:Rhenium