title: [Safety of omitting axillary lymph node dissection in primary breast cancer patients with negative sentinel lymph nodes].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the safety of omitting axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in primary invasive breast cancer patients with negative sentinel lymph nodes (SLN).
  
  
  METHODS
  Between June 2005 and June 2011, all SLN negative patients omitting ALND were analyzed retrospectively. They were all primary invasive breast cancer patients without clinic cytological evidence of axillary node involvement. SLN biopsy was performed prior to systemic treatment. And the tracer was (99)Tc(m) labeled Rituximab.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1807 eligible patients were enrolled. Their median age was 50 years (21-87). And the median number of SLN was 2. The patients of T1, T2 and T3 were 1069 (59.2%), 712 (39.4%) and 26 (1.4%) respectively. After a median follow-up of 36 months, 14 (0.77%) cases of ipsilateral axillary recurrence were observed. Among them, 10 (0.55%) had single axillary recurrence. Second primary cancer occurred in 22 patients (1.2%). And distant metastases were found in 26 patients (1.4%). The 3-year axillary recurrence rate was 0.7%, disease-free survival 96.4% (95%CI 95.4%-97.4%) and recurrence-free survival 97.1% (95%CI 96.1%-98.1%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The omitting of ALND is safe in breast cancer patients with negative SLN.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis & Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Breast Cancer Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Tie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis & Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Breast Cancer Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis & Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Breast Cancer Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Jin-feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis & Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Breast Cancer Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Yun-tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis & Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Breast Cancer Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Zhao-qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis & Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Breast Cancer Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Ying-jian
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis & Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Breast Cancer Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China. Email: sytobj@126.com.
authors.forename: Tian-feng
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000075202:Contraindications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult