title: Is Regression after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer Different in Sentinel and Non-sentinel Nodes?
abstract: Tumor draining sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) are the sites of selective changes as compared to non-SLNs. They show features of tumor-reactive lymphadenopathy, including increased total number of functional blood vessels, but a relative immunosuppressed status has also been described in them. We explored the hypothesis of a selective regression or non-regression in SLNs versus non-SLNs in 142 patients with 110 estrogen receptor-positive and 32 estrogen receptor-negative tumors undergoing both SLN biopsy and axillary lymph node dissection after neoadjuvant therapy by assessing the tumoral (metastatic) and regression statuses of SLNs and non-SLNs separately. Of the 89 cases with signs of nodal regression, 22 cases (25%) were in favor of a selective non-regression in SLNs, 18 cases (20%) were supportive of a selective and more pronounced regression in the SLNs and the remaining showed equal degrees of regression or non-regression in SLNs and non-SLNs. The results indicate that there is no obvious difference in the degree of regressive histological changes shown by SLNs and NSLNs. Therefore, this phenomenon may not be a major contributor to the higher false negative rate of SLN biopsy after neoadjuvant treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Bács-Kiskun County Teaching Hospital, Nyiri ut 38, Kecskemét, 6000, Hungary. cserni@freemail.hu.|Department of Pathology, University of Szeged, Állomás u 1, Szeged, 6725, Hungary. cserni@freemail.hu.
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1344-7744
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cserni
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Szeged, Állomás u 1, Szeged, 6725, Hungary.
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zombori
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, University Autònoma Barcelona, 08202, Sabadell, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Andreu
authors.affiliation: Division of Pathological Anatomy, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, AOU Careggi, Largo G. A. Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 25, A-8036, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Regitnig
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Anatomia Patológica, Centro Hospitalar de São João e IPATIMUP, 4440-563, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Amendoeira
authors.affiliation: Candiolo Cancer Institute - Fondazione del Piemonte per l'Oncologia (FPO), IRCCS, Str. Prov. 142, km 3.95, 10060, Candiolo, To, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Balmativola
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology and Genetics, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gula stråket 8, 41345, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anikó
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kovács
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Irunlarrea 3, 31008, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cordoba
authors.affiliation: Pathologisch-Bakteriologisches Institut, Donauspital am SMZO, Langobardenstraße, 122, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reiner
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Pathology, Semmelweis University Budapest, Üllői út 93, Budapest, H-1091, Hungary.
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kulka
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Marmara University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Handan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.affiliation: Pathology Centre, Riga East Clinical University Hospital, Hipokrata St 2, Riga, LV-1038, Latvia.
authors.forename: Inta
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Liepniece-Karele
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University College Dublin, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Cecily
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Szeged, Állomás u 1, Szeged, 6725, Hungary.
authors.forename: Bence
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kővári
mesh_terms: D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000071036:Sentinel Lymph Node / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
keywords: Breast cancer; Neoadjuvant therapy; Non-sentinel lymph node; Selective regression; Sentinel lymph node