SENTINEL LYMPH NODE DETECTION;DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC VALUE IN EARLY INVASIVE BREAST CANCER

Abstract

Axillary lymph node dissection has long been the standard surgical procedure as part of treatment for invasive breast cancer. The presence or absence of axillary metastases is still the single most powerful predictor of outcome, despite the availability of numerous other biological and genetic markers. Careful axillary dissection is also therapeutic. Axillary dissection. however, is accompanied by considerable morbidity and there is a definitive correlation between the number of nodes excised and the severity of postoperative discomfort.

Sentinel node biopsy has been developed during recent years to stage the axilla. The status of the sentinel node predicts the status of the rest of the nodes in the node basin. Three different methods have been used to identifY the sentinel node in patients with breast cancer: vital blue dye. lymphoscintigraphy with intraoperative use of a y probe and a combination of these two methods.