title: Imaging axillary lymph nodes in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer.
abstract: The presence of axillary lymph node metastasis in patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer carries significant prognostic and management implications. As a result, there is increasing interest to stage accurately the axilla with preoperative imaging to facilitate treatment planning. Currently, the most widespread imaging techniques for the evaluation of the axilla include ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. In many settings, the ability to detect axillary lymph nodes containing metastases with imaging and image-guided biopsy can allow surgeons to bypass sentinel lymph node dissection and proceed with full axillary lymph node dissection. However, no imaging modality currently has sufficient negative-predictive value to obviate surgical staging of the axilla if no abnormal lymph nodes are detected. Promising advanced imaging technologies, such as diffusion-weighted imaging and magnetic resonance lymphangiography, hold the potential to improve the accuracy of axillary staging and thereby transform management of the axilla in patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
authors: Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. hrahbar@uw.edu
authors: Habib
authors: H
authors: Rahbar
authors: Savannah C
authors: SC
authors: Partridge
authors: Sara H
authors: SH
authors: Javid
authors: Constance D
authors: CD
authors: Lehman
mesh_terms: D001365:Axilla / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D061705:Image-Guided Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18