title: Sentinel lymph node biopsy in male patients with early breast cancer.
abstract: Mastectomy with axillary dissection is still the most commonly recommended procedure for male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate our experience in 32 male patients with early breast cancer who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and axillary dissection only in cases of metastases in the sentinel lymph node (SLN). The median age was 58 years (range, 33-80). Lymphoscintigraphy was successful in all patients, with a mean number of visualized SLNs per patient of 1.3 (range, 1-2). At surgery, the identification rate of the SLN was 100%, with a mean number of removed SLNs per patient of 1.5 (range, 1-3). Twenty-six patients had negative SLNs, six patients had positive SLNs. Two patients with metastatic SLNs had additional positive nodes. After a median follow-up of 30 months (range, 1-63) no axillary reappearance of the disease occurred. As with women, we recommend SLNB in male patients with breast cancer and clinically negative axilla.
authors.affiliation: Division of Breast Surgery, European Institute of Oncology, 20141, Milan, Italy. oreste.gentilini@ieo.it
authors.forename: Oreste
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gentilini
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chagas
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zurrida
authors.forename: Mattia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Intra
authors.forename: Concetta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Cicco
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gatti
authors.forename: Luzemira
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Renne
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cassano
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Veronesi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001365:Axilla; D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002285:Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D015413:Mastectomy, Simple; D008875:Middle Aged; D012107:Research Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome