Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer: a systematic review

Secondary node analysis as an indicator for axillary lymphadenectomy in breast cancer patients

INTRODUCTION

Currently, there is no agreement regarding if it would be necessary to perform an axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients who have macrometastases in the sentinel lymph node (SLN). We studied the utility of the secondary node analysis (SN), defined as the following node after the SLN in an anatomical and lymphatic pathway, as a sign of malignant axillary involvement.

METHODS

An observational, retrospective and multicentre study was designed to assess the utility of the SN as a sign of axillary involvement. Among 2273 patients with breast cancer, a valid sample of 283 was obtained representing those who had the SN studied. Main endpoints of our study were: the SLN, the SN and the ALND histological pattern. Sensitivity, specificity and precision of the test were also calculated.

RESULTS

SN test, in cases with positive SLN, has a sensitivity of 61.1%, a specificity of 78.7%, a positive predictive value of 45.8% and a negative predictive value of 87.3% with a precision of 74.7%.

CONCLUSION

The study of the SN together with the technique of the SLN allows a more precise staging of the axillary involvement, in patients with breast cancer, than just the SLN technique.

Total adventitial resection of the cardia: 'optimal local resection' for tumours of the oesophagogastric junction

INTRODUCTION

Little is published about the local resection of oesophageal cancers. We adopted the principles of rectal cancer surgery, ie standard surgical dissection techniques as well as standard pathological processing and reporting, and assessed the feasibility of applying them to oesophagogastric junction (OGJ) cancer.

METHODS

Over a two-year period consecutive patients with invasive cancers of the OGJ were studied. Following staging and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), a standard dissection defined as a total adventitial resection of the cardia (TARC) was performed. Standard histopathological processing involved external inking, photographing, transverse slicing and mounting of cut samples on megablocks. Hospital morbidity and mortality as well as survival at five years' follow-up were assessed.

RESULTS

Forty consecutive patients had a TARC for OGJ carcinoma. Of these, 32 were offered NAC. Introducing TARC did not result in increased morbidity or mortality. Twenty-seven patients (68%) had an R0 resection that was directly related to the tumour stage and significantly related to a response to chemotherapy. Sixteen patients (42%) were alive five years after their TARC operation.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the adventitia of the OGJ is not as well developed as that of the rectum, TARC can be performed safely as a standardised resection for OGJ cancers. Whereas the R0 rate for early stage tumours is very high, it remains disappointingly low for T3N1 tumours despite NAC. Improved long-term survival for these advanced tumours will only be achieved with better neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in primary breast cancer: trust the radiolabeled colloid method and avoid unnecessary procedures

BACKGROUND

With regard to the sentinel lymph node (SLN) procedure in breast cancer, the study analyzed the impact of discrepancies between the number of clinically and histologically identified SLN, the impact of removing additional non-hot/non-blue but clinically conspicuous lymph nodes (LN), and whether the application of blue dye for mapping is necessary.

METHODS

We analyzed 391 SLN procedures in which 928 SLN were removed. In all cases, radiolabeled colloid and blue dye were used for SLN mapping.

RESULTS

In 60 cases (15.3%), additional LN that were not identified by the surgeon were found by histological examination. In 22 cases (5.3%), tissue which clinically resembled an SLN but was histologically connective tissue, was removed. In 76 cases (19.4%), 133 non-hot/non-blue but clinically conspicuous LN were removed. These additionally removed LN, however, did not alter the axillary staging. In 50.8% of the cases (n = 471), the SLN were marked only by radiolabeled colloid. In 27 cases (2.9%), the surgeon identified the LN through blue coloration alone; however, in all of the latter cases, these SLN were not deciding for axillary staging.

CONCLUSION

The mapping agents may accumulate in axillary tissue and mimic the existence of an SLN. The radiolabeled colloid method alone gives excellent mapping results. The additional application of blue dye is avoidable. Exact surgical preparation enables removal of the SLN only and avoids removal of LN-containing adjacent tissue. The removal of further clinically identifiable enlarged non-hot LN should only be done if there is strong suspicion of metastatic involvement.