Abstract
Background: The need for routine axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients with invasive breast cancer and low-volume sentinel node (SN) involvement is questionable. Accurate prediction of second echelon lymph node involvement could identify those patients most likely to benefit from ALND.Methods: A consecutive series of 317 patients with invasive breast cancer and a tumor positive axillary SN followed by ALND was reviewed. Clinicopathologic features of the primary tumor and the SN were assessed as possible predictors of second echelon lymph node involvement.Results: Second echelon metastases were found in 116/317 cases (36.6%). Frequency of second echelon lymph node involvement in patients with isolated tumor cells (ITC, N=23), micro- (N=101) and macrometastases (N=193) was 13%, 20% and 48%, respectively (p
| Translated title of the contribution | Predictive value of tumor load in breast cancer sentinel lymph nodes for second echelon lymph node metastases. |
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| Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
| Pages (from-to) | 497-505 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Cellular oncology |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |