title: Follow-up of sentinel node negative breast cancer patients without axillary lymph node dissection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A SN was identified in 227 of 247 patients (91.9%). One hundred forty-five were SN negative, 82 were SN positive. All SN-positive patients underwent axillary dissection of level I and II, whereas 83 patients with a negative SN had SN biopsy only. Median follow-up of these patients at 22 months revealed no axillary recurrence; the morbidity resulting from SN biopsy was negligible.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the follow-up is very short, SN biopsy only in node-negative breast cancer patients had no negative impact on the axillary failure rate and resulted in negligible morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery-Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Surgical Laparoscopy, AKH Linz, Austria. peter.schrenk@aon.at
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schrenk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hatzl-Griesenhofer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shamiyeh
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Waynad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy