title: Feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy in multifocal/multicentric breast cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy can replace axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in prediction of nodal status in node-negative breast cancer. However, patients presenting with multifocal/multicentric (MF/MC) breast cancer are usually excluded from studies of SLN biopsy. This study evaluated the efficacy of SLN biopsy in patients with MF/MC breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Breast cancer patients who underwent preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and SLN biopsy with backup ALND from 2004 to 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients enrolled in this study had clinically node-negative unifocal or MF/MC breast cancer based on final histology. Sentinel node biopsy was performed with a 2-day protocol with intradermal radiocolloid injection on day one and SLN biopsy on day two. Histopathologic parameters and the efficacy of the SLN biopsy were compared between unifocal and MF/MC breast cancers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study enrolled 158 breast cancer patients; one hundred and thirty-five patients were diagnosed with unifocal and 23 with MF/MC breast cancer. The mean numbers of SLNs retrieved were 1.3 for the unifocal and 1.1 for the MF/MC groups. The identification rate, sensitivity, accuracy, and false-negative rate for unifocal and MF/MC breast cancers were 94.8%, 92.6%, 98.4%, and 7.4%; and 100%, 100%, 100%, and 0%, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the two groups for SLN identification, sensitivity, accuracy, and false-negative rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sentinel lymph node biopsy using intradermal radiocolloid injection method is feasible for MF/MC breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. loyf@cgmh.org.tw
authors.forename: Yung-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Yun-Chung
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Swei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hsueh
authors.forename: Kung-Chu
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy