title: Controversial indications for sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients.
abstract: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) emerged in the 1990s as a new technique in the surgical management of the axilla for patients with early breast cancer, resulting in lower complication rates and better quality of life than axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Today SLNB is firmly established in the armamentarium of clinicians treating breast cancer, but several questions remain. The goal of this paper is to review recent work addressing 4 questions that have been the subject of debate in the use of SLNB in the past few years: (a) What is the implication of finding micrometastases in the sentinel nodes? (b) Is ALND necessary in all patients who have a positive SLNB? (c) How accurate is SLNB after neoadjuvant therapy? (d) Can SLNB be used to stage the axilla in locally recurrent breast cancer following breast surgery with or without prior axillary surgery?
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Cairo Street, P.O. Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Hazem
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Assi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Cairo Street, P.O. Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Eman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sbaity
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, 6299 South Street, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4R2.
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdelsalam
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Cairo Street, P.O. Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3725-8403
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shamseddine
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D018579:Patient Selection; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*
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