Axillary Reverse Mapping in Clinically Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Axillary reverse mapping (ARM) nodes are involved in a significant proportion of clinically node-positive (cN+) breast cancer patients. However, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is effective at decreasing the incidence of nodal metastases in cN+ patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-five cN+ patients with confirmed nodal involvement on ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology were enrolled in this study one group underwent axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) without NAC (upfront surgery group), and the other group underwent ALND following NAC (NAC group). The patients underwent 18F-FDG-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) before surgery, as well as an ARM procedure during ALND. RESULTS: the rates of involvement of ARM nodes in the NAC group were significantly lower than those of the upfront surgery group (36.6% vs. 62.2%, p < 0.01). Notably, involvement was significantly decreased after NAC in non-luminal-type tumors as compared to the luminal-type (18.4% vs. 48.5% p < 0.01). Moreover, there was a significant difference in ARM node involvement after NAC between patients with or without axillary uptake of 18F-FDG (61.5% vs. 32.5% p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: NAC significantly decreased the risk of ARM node metastases in cN+ patients, but 18F-FDG-PET/CT was not suitable to detect residual metastatic disease of the axilla after NAC.