title: Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer: a systematic review.
abstract: Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy have become an important tool for axillary lymph node staging in women with early-stage breast cancer. Many issues such as indications, usefulness, or best method of performing a sentinel node biopsy need to be addressed. Multiple studies now confirm that sentinel lymphadenectomy accurately stages the axilla and is associated with less morbidity than axillary dissection. Blue dye, radiocolloid, or both can be used to identify the sentinel node, and several injection techniques may be used successfully. Many patient factors previously thought to affect accuracy of the procedure have now been shown to be of limited significance. This paper's main purpose is to present the pros and cons of the sentinel lymph node biopsy, and to elucidate all questions regarding to the matter by reviewing the current medical literature.
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical School, University of Athens, Attikon Hospital, Athens, Greece. stamatakosmih@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stamatakos
authors.forename: Charikleia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefanaki
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kontzoglou
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Safioleas
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*