INCIDENC£ AND PREDICTORS OF AXILLARY METASTASIS IN CUNICALLY STA6£. I CARCINOMA OF TH£. BREAST

Abstract

There is growing controversy about the routine use of axillruy node dissection in the surgical management of breast cancer, especially in patients with early-stage cancer. A major theme of recent research in this area has been the refmement of methods for identifying node-positive patients. Existing prognostic factors based on clinical histmy and tumor chru•acteristics have not been successful in predicting nodal involvement in individual patients. Sentinel lymph node mapping is a promising new technique with the ability to reliably predict nodal status, without the morbidity of axillruy dissection. This technique will be especially useful in patients with early-stage breast cancer, where the probability of nodal involvement is low.