Sentinel node biopsy and axillary dissection in breast cancer: the evidence and its limits.
BACKGROUND
Increasing evidence suggests that surgical removal of the axillary lymph nodes (axillary dissection, ALD) in early breast cancer yields no advantage in terms of either overall or disease-free survival, even in women with involvement of sentinel nodes. The optimal role of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in neo-adjuvant therapy is currently under discussion.


METHODS
This review is based on a selective search in the Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and G.I.N. (Guidelines International Network) databases for relevant articles on the role of axillary dissection in node-positive breast cancer and the role of SNB in neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.


RESULTS
Although no single study provides adequate evidence, the available literature increasingly casts doubt on the putative therapeutic benefit of ALD as part of a multimodal treatment strategy for breast cancer. It is currently unclear what group of patients, if any, might benefit from ALD. Nor is any definitive judgment possible, from the available evidence, regarding the optimal role of SNB in neo-adjuvant therapy. The most recent evidence indicates that SNB after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in ycN0 patients who had suspect lymph nodes before systemic treatment has a low rate of sensitivity.


CONCLUSIONS
Current evidence indicates that the radicality of lymph node surgery in the treatment of breast cancer can be reduced, even if the node status is positive.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ulm University Medical Center, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Esslingen, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Düsseldorf University Hospital.
Wolfgang
W
Janni
Thorsten
T
Kühn
Lukas
L
Schwentner
Rolf
R
Kreienberg
Tanja
T
Fehm
Achim
A
Wöckel
D001365:Axilla / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000401:mortality*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000401:mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015996:Survival Rate