title: Controversies in sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer.
abstract: Sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer patients has recently been applied as a less invasive, highly accurate alternative to axillary lymph node dissection. Numerous studies have shown that sentinel nodes accurately diagnose axillary staging. However, many problems remain to be answered and must be addressed before sentinel node biopsy becomes the standard surgical procedure for patients with breast cancer. We reviewed and discussed here three of these problems; axillary sampling as an alternative to sentinel node biopsy, dye method vs. combination of dye and radiocolloid for sentinel node biopsy, and intraoperative sentinel node examination. Further investigation will continue to be necessary as we learn how to better provide procedure of sentinel node biopsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, 1-3-3 Nakamichi, Higashinari-ku, Osaka 537-8511, Japan. motomurak@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Motomura
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Komoike
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagumo
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kasugai
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inaji
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koyama
mesh_terms: D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals