Sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer larger than 3 cm in diameter

Breast-conserving surgery followed by whole-breast irradiation offers survival benefits over mastectomy without irradiation

Background

The prognostic equivalence between mastectomy and breast‐conserving surgery (BCS) followed by radiotherapy was shown in pivotal trials conducted decades ago. Since then, detection and treatment of breast cancer have improved substantially and recent retrospective analyses point towards a survival benefit for less extensive breast surgery. Evidence for the association of such survival data with locoregional recurrence rates is largely lacking.

Methods

The Swedish Multicentre Cohort Study prospectively included clinically node‐negative patients with breast cancer who had planned sentinel node biopsy between 2000 and 2004. Axillary lymph node dissection was undertaken only in patients with sentinel node metastases. For the present investigation, adjusted survival analyses were used to compare patients who underwent BCS and postoperative radiotherapy with those who received mastectomy without radiotherapy.

Results

Of 3518 patients in the Swedish Multicentre Cohort Study, 2767 were included in the present analysis; 2338 had BCS with postoperative radiotherapy and 429 had mastectomy without radiotherapy. Median follow‐up was 156 months. BCS followed by whole‐breast irradiation was superior to mastectomy without irradiation in terms of both overall survival (79·5 versus 64·3 per cent respectively at 13 years; P < 0·001) and breast cancer‐specific survival (90·5 versus 84·0 per cent at 13 years; P < 0·001). The local recurrence rate did not differ between the two groups. The axillary recurrence‐free survival rate at 13 years was significantly lower after mastectomy without irradiation (98·3 versus 96·2 per cent; P < 0·001).

Conclusion

The present data support the superiority of BCS with postoperative radiotherapy over mastectomy without radiotherapy. The axillary recurrence rate differed significantly, and could be one contributing factor in a complex explanatory model.

Radiotherapy to lower axilla key?

Sentinel Node Biopsy in Early Breast Cancer: Lessons Learned from More than 1000 Cases at a Single Institution

Aims

The aims of this paper are to report the development of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in breast cancer at a single institution and to discuss the relevant issues on SNB still to be elucidated.

Patients and methods

From 1998 to 2010, 1021 SNBs with frozen section examination were carried out in patients with breast cancer. In the early period (1998–2002) SNB was always combined with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). From 2002 onwards, only patients with a positive SNB result underwent ALND (late period). The characteristics of patients with infiltrating carcinoma (IC) and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and the histological status of the sentinel nodes were examined. The survival outcomes of node-negative patients were compared between patients submitted to SNB and ALND (ALND group) during the early period and patients who underwent only SNB during the late period (SNB group).

Results

The sentinel node was identified intraoperatively in 98.3% of cases. During the early period the overall accuracy of SNB was 97.0%. During the late period, 700 patients with IC and 140 with DCIS underwent SNB. In the IC group, 149 patients (21.3%) had sentinel node macrometastases and 36 (5.1%) micrometastases; of that subgroup, 21 underwent ALND and no other metastatic lymph nodes were found, and 15 underwent SNB only. Axillary recurrences were observed in 4 patients (0.77%) with negative SNB; none of these were among the patients with micrometastatic SNB. Two patients (1.4%) with DCIS had a positive SNB. In node-negative patients the 5-year overall survival was 96.7% in the ALND group and 96.5% in the SNB group (P = 0.63). The 5-year disease-free survival was 93.8% and 93.2% in the ALND and SNB groups, respectively (P = 0.77).

Conclusions

Overall and disease-free survival in patients with a negative SNB result and no further axillary surgery were equal to those in patients with negative ALND. Intraoperative assessment of the sentinel node in expert hands has a low false-negative rate and allows immediate ALND in patients with sentinel node metastases, avoiding the need for a second operation. ALND for sentinel node micrometastases may be safely omitted in most patients with early stage breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy validation for large tumors

BACKGROUND

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) remains under discussion for large size tumors. The aim of this work has been to study the false negative rate (FNR) of SLNB for large tumors and predictive factors of false negative (FN).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A study of a multicentric cohort, involved patients presenting N0 breast cancer with a SLNB eventually completed by complementary axillary lymph node dissection (cALND). The main criteria were the FNR and the predictive factors of FN.

RESULTS

12.415 patients were included: 748 with tumors ≥30 mm, 1101 with tumors >20 and < 30 mm and 10.566 with tumors ≤20 mm, with a cALND respectively for 501 patients (67%), 523 (62.1%) and 2775 (26.3%). The FNR were respectively: 3.05% (IC95%: 1.3-4.8) for tumors ≥30 mm*, 3.5% (1.8-5.2) for tumors >20 and < 30 mm*, 1.8% (1-2.4) for tumors ≤20 mm (p < 0.05) (*Not significant). At multivariate analysis, SN number harvested ≤2 (OR:2.0, p = 0.023) and tumor size >20 and < 30 mm (OR:2.07, p = 0.017) were significant predictive factors of FN, without significant value for tumor size ≥30 mm (OR:1.83, p = 0.073).

CONCLUSION

The FNR of SLNB was not higher amongst large size tumors compared to tumors of a smaller size. These results support the validation of SNLB for tumors up to 50 mm.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in Chinese patients with large operable breast cancer (≥4 cm): A decade's experience from a single institution

BACKGROUND

Performing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with large operable breast cancer is still controversial. Our aim is to find whether or not performing SLNB is feasible and safety in Chinese patients with large operable breast cancer.

METHODS

We reviewed the data of patients in our center from 2003 to 2015, a series of 267 patients with large operable breast cancer (≥4 cm) who underwent SLNB were examined. All selected patients recieved preoperative axillary evaluation.

RESULTS

The successful rate for localizing SLNs was 96.3% (257 of 267). 31.1% (78 of 257) patients were found to have positive sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). The median follow-up was 52 months. 2.2% (4 of 179) SLN-negative patients developed axillary recurrence (AR) as first event. The 5-year axillary recurrence free survival in SLN-negative patients was 96.9% (95%CI, 93.8%-100%). Patients with suspicious nodes on ultrasonography (US) (P = 0.16) and undergoing breast conserving therapy (BCT) (P = 0.057) had a higher trend to be associated with AR. The 5-year recurrence free survival (RFS) was 86.1% (95%CI, 80.8%-93.0%) in SLN-negative patients and 76.3% (95%CI, 68.1%-90.1%) in SLN-positive patients (P = 0.246).

CONCLUSIONS

SLNB is feasible and safety in patients with large operable breast cancer who underwent preoperative axillary evaluation.

Swedish prospective multicenter trial evaluating sentinel lymph node biopsy after neoadjuvant systemic therapy in clinically node-positive breast cancer

Purpose

Patients with clinically node-positive breast cancer planned for neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NAST) may draw advantages from the nodal downstaging effect and reduce the extent of axillary surgery with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) performed after NAST. Since there are concerns about lower sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection and higher false-negative rates (FNR) in this setting, our aim was to define the accuracy of SLNB after NAST.

Methods

This Swedish national multicenter trial prospectively recruited 195 breast cancer patients from ten hospitals with T1–T4d biopsy-proven node-positive disease planned for NAST between October 1, 2010 and December 31, 2015. Clinically node-negative axillary status after NAST was not mandatory. SLNB was always attempted and followed by a completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND).

Results

The SLN identification rate was 77.9% (152/195) but improved to 80.7% (138/171) with dual mapping. The median number of SLNs was two (range 1–5). A positive SLNB was found in 52% (79/152), almost 66% (52/79) of whom had additional positive non-sentinel lymph nodes. The overall pathologic nodal response rate was 33.3% (66/195). The overall FNR was 14.1% (13/92) but decreased to 4% (2/50) when only patients with two or more sentinel nodes were analyzed.

Conclusions

In biopsy-proven node-positive breast cancer, SLNB after NAST is feasible even though the identification rate is lower than in clinically node-negative patients. Since the overall FNR is unacceptably high, the omission of ALND should only be considered if two or more SLNs are identified.

Swedish prospective multicenter trial on the accuracy and clinical relevance of sentinel lymph node biopsy before neoadjuvant systemic therapy in breast cancer

Purpose

The timing of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in the context of neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NAST) in breast cancer is still controversial. SLNB before NAST has been evaluated in few single-institution studies in which axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), however, was commonly not performed in case of a negative SLNB. We investigated the potential clinical relevance of SLNB before NAST by performing ALND in all patients after NAST.

Methods

This national multicenter trial prospectively enrolled clinically node-negative breast cancer patients planned for NAST at 13 recruiting Swedish hospitals between October 2010 and December 2015. SLNB before NAST was followed by ALND after NAST in all individuals. Repeat SLNB after NAST was encouraged but not mandatory.

Results

SLNB before NAST was performed in 224 patients. The identification rate was 100% (224/224). The proportion of patients with a negative SLNB before NAST but positive axillary lymph nodes after NAST was 7.4% (nine of 121 patients, 95% CI 4.0–13.5). Among those with a positive SLNB before NAST, 23.2% (86/112) had further positive lymph nodes after NAST.

Conclusions

In clinically node-negative patients, SLNB before NAST is highly reliable. With this sequence, ALND and regional radiotherapy can be safely omitted in patients with a negative SLNB provided good clinical response to NAST. Additionally, SLNB-positive patients upfront will receive correct nodal staging unaffected by NAST and be consequently offered adjuvant locoregional treatment according to current guidelines pending the results of ongoing randomized trials.

Ten-year report on axillary recurrence after negative sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer from the Swedish Multicentre Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

The omission of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients with breast cancer with a negative finding on sentinel node biopsy (SNB) has reduced arm morbidity substantially. Early follow-up reports have shown the rate of axillary recurrence to be significantly lower than expected, with a median false-negative rate of 7 per cent for SNB. Long-term follow-up is needed as recurrences may develop late.

METHODS

The Swedish Multicentre Cohort Study included 3518 women with breast cancer and a clinically negative axilla, in whom SNB was planned. ALND was performed only in patients with sentinel node metastasis. Twenty-six centres contributed to enrolment between September 2000 and January 2004. The primary endpoint was the axillary recurrence rate and the secondary endpoint was breast cancer-specific survival, calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival estimates.

RESULTS

Some 2216 sentinel node-negative patients with 2237 breast cancers were analysed. The median follow-up time was 126 (range 0-174) months. Isolated axillary recurrence was found in 35 patients (1·6 per cent). High histological grade and multifocal tumours were risk factors for axillary recurrence, whereas the removal of more than two sentinel nodes decreased the risk. Fourteen (40 per cent) of 35 patients died as a consequence of axillary recurrence.

CONCLUSION

The risk of axillary recurrence remains lower than expected after a negative finding on SNB at 10-year follow-up. Axillary recurrences may occur long after primary surgery, and lead to a significant risk of breast cancer death.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer

OBJECTIVES

To report our experience in sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in early breast cancer. 

METHODS

This is a retrospective study conducted at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between January 2005 and December 2014. There were 120 patients who underwent SLNB with frozen section examination. Data collected included the characteristics of patients, index tumor, and sentinel node (SN), SLNB results, axillary recurrence rate and SLNB morbidity.  

RESULTS

There were 120 patients who had 123 cancers. Sentinel node was identified in 117 patients having 120 tumors (97.6% success rate). No SN was found intraoperatively in 3 patients. Frozen section results showed that 95 patients were SN negative, those patients had no immediate axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), whereas 25 patients were SN positive and subsequently had immediate ALND. Upon further examination of the 95 negative SN's by hematoxylin and  eosin (H and E) and immunohistochemical staining for doubtful H and E cases, 10 turned out to have micrometastases (6 had delayed ALND and 4 had no further axillary surgery). Median follow up of patients was 35.5 months and the mean was 38.8 months. There was one axillary recurrence observed in the SN negative group. The morbidity of SLNB was minimal. 

CONCLUSION

The obtainable results from our local experience in SLNB in breast cancer, concur with that seen in published similar literature in particular the axillary failure rate. Sentinel lymph node biopsy resulted in minimal morbidity.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer: Are the current false negative rates acceptable?

The advent of sentinel lymph node biopsy has revolutionised surgical management of axillary nodal disease in patients with breast cancer. Patients undergoing neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for large breast primary tumours may experience complete pathological response on a previously positive sentinel node whilst not eliminating the tumour from the other lymph nodes. Results from 2 large prospective cohort studies investigating sentinel lymph node biopsy after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy demonstrate a combined false negative rate of 12.6-14.2% and identification rate of 80-89% with the minimal acceptable false negative rate and identification rate being set at 10% and 90%, respectively. A false negative rate of 14% would have been classified as unacceptable when compared to the figures obtained by the pioneers of sentinel lymph node biopsy which was 5% or less.

[Sentinel node biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Its relation with molecular subtypes]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the influence of the molecular subtype (MS) in the Sentinel Node Biopsy (SNB) technique after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in women with locally advanced breast cancer (BC) and a complete axillary response (CR).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A prospective study involving 70 patients with BC treated with NAC was carried out. An axillary lymph node dissection was performed in the first 48 patients (validation group: VG), and in case of micro- or macrometastases in the therapeutic application phase (therapy group:TG). Classified according to MS: 14 luminal A; 16 luminal B HER2-, 13 luminal B HER2+, 10HER2+ non-luminal, 17 triple-negative.

RESULTS

SNB was carried out in 98.6% of the cases, with only one false negative result in the VG (FN=2%). Molecular subtype did not affect SN detection. Despite the existence of axillary CR, statistically significant differences were found in the proportion of macrometastasis (16.7% vs. 35.7%, p=0.043) on comparing the pre-NAC cN0 and cN+. Breast tumor response to NAC varied among the different MS, this being lowest in luminal A (21.5%) and highest in non-luminal HER2+ group (80%). HER2+ and triple-negative were the groups with the best axillary histological response both when there was prior clinical involvement and when there was not.

CONCLUSIONS

Molecular subtype is a predictive factor of the degree of tumor response to NAC in breast cancer. However, it does not affect SNB detection and efficiency. SNB can also be used safely in women with prior node involvement as long as a complete clinical and radiological assessment is made of the node response to NAC.

Accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy in large and multifocal/multicentric breast carcinoma--a systematic review

BACKGROUND

While sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is established in the management of small unifocal breast cancer its role in management of multifocal (MF), multicentric (MC) and larger tumors is still evolving.

METHODS

Medline was searched; studies meeting pre-determined criteria were included. Data were extracted and entered into evidence tables.

RESULTS

Twenty six studies met inclusion criteria and reported data on accuracy; no randomized trials were identified. For MF cancers (n = 314 cases), success rate for identification of an SLN was 86-94%, SLN positivity rate 42-59%, false negative rate (FNR) 0-33% and overall accuracy 78-100%. For MC (n = 294 cases): success rate 92-100%, SLN positivity rate 25-61%, FNR 4-8% and accuracy 96-100%. For 'multiple breast cancer' (studies combining MF/MC cases; n = 996 cases): success rate 92-100%, SLN positivity rate 12-63%, FNR 0-25%, and accuracy 82-100%. For larger tumors (n = 1912 cases): success rate 86-100%, SLN positivity rate 49-77%, FNR 3-18% and accuracy 85-98%. For MC/MF and larger cancers overall non-SLN positivity rates were up to 82%; axillary recurrence rates were low but seldom reported.

CONCLUSION

There are no randomized trials evaluating the safety of SLNB in MF/MC and larger breast cancers. Based on limited evidence, success rate and FNR appear to be similar to those for small unifocal cancers, however node positivity rates are higher and rates of non-SLN positivity are very high. Awareness of these issues is essential when recommending SLNB based axillary management for these higher-risk tumors.

Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patients with large or multifocal tumors

BACKGROUND

The axillary recurrence (AR) rate after negative sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in patients with high risk of axillary metastases is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the risk factors for isolated AR after negative SNB with special interest in large or multifocal tumors.

METHODS

A prospective SNB registry was analyzed for 2,408 invasive breast cancer patients operated between 2001 and 2007. No axillary clearance was performed in 1,309 cases with a negative SNB, including 1,138 small unifocal tumors, 121 small multifocal tumors, 48 large unifocal tumors, and 2 large multifocal tumors.

RESULTS

Six (0.5%) isolated AR were observed during a median follow-up of 43 months. Four (0.4%) patients with small unifocal tumors and two (1.6%) with small multifocal tumors had isolated AR (p = 0.179). None of the patients with large unifocal or multifocal tumors had isolated AR. Instead of tumor size and multifocality, estrogen receptor negativity (p < 0.001), nuclear grade III (p < 0.001), Her-2 status (p = 0.002), no radiotherapy (p = 0.005), and mastectomy (p = 0.005) were found to be associated with AR.

CONCLUSIONS

A remarkable proportion of patients with large unifocal tumors and small multifocal tumors may avoid unnecessary AC due to tumor negative SNB, without an excessive risk of AR.

The sentinel node in breast cancer

Biopsy of the sentinel lymph node now forms part of routine management in many centres dealing with early stage breast cancer. This article seeks to discuss developments over the past number of years and to summarise current practice.

Resolving the controversies surrounding lymphatic mapping in breast cancer

Sentinel lymph node biopsy has rapidly become the standard of care in the primary treatment of breast cancer. Most of the initially identified potential contraindications towards the procedure, such as nonpalpability, large tumor size, pregnancy and being previously operated in the breast or axilla, have been ruled out, whereas multifocality represents an unsolved problem. There is no consensus about the best use of the technique in patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment. There is no place for sentinel lymph node biopsy in pure ductal carcinoma in situ, but it can be used for large high-grade in situ cancer diagnosed through core biopsy, especially if a mastectomy is planned. Morbidity is low, and the recurrence rates reported so far are reassuring. However, long-term results are lacking, and results from ongoing randomized trials are awaited.

Intraoperative frozen section assessment of sentinel lymph nodes in the operative management of women with symptomatic breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Maximisation of the potential of sentinel lymph node biopsy as a minimally invasive method of axillary staging requires sensitive intraoperative pathological analysis so that rates of re-operation for lymphatic metastases are minimised. The aim of this study was to describe the test parameters of the frozen section evaluation of sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer compared to the gold standard of standard permanent pathological evaluation at our institution.

METHODS

The accuracy of intraoperative frozen section (FS) of sentinel nodes was determined in 94 consecutive women undergoing surgery for clinically node negative, invasive breast cancer (37:T1 disease; 43:T2; 14:T3). Definitive evidence of lymphatic spread on FS indicated immediate level II axillary clearance while sentinel node "negativity" on intraoperative testing led to the operation being curtailed to allow formal H&E analysis of the remaining sentinel nodal tissue.

RESULTS

Intraoperative FS correctly predicted axillary involvement in 23/30 patients with lymphatic metastases (76% sensitivity rate) permitting definitive surgery to be completed at the index operation in 87 women (93%) overall. All SN found involved on FS were confirmed as harbouring tumour cells on subsequent formal specimen examination (100% specificity and positive predictive value) with 16 patients having additional non-sentinel nodes found also to contain tumour. Negative Predictive Values were highest in women with T1 tumours (97%) and lessened with more local advancement of disease (T2 rates: 86%; T3: 75%). Of those with falsely negative FS, three had only micrometastatic disease.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative FS reliably evaluates the status of the sentinel node allowing most women complete their surgery in a single stage. Thus SN can be offered with increased confidence to those less likely to have negative axillae hence expanding the population of potential beneficiaries.