The role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in Paget's disease of the breast.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has become a standard of care for axillary lymph node staging in breast cancer and appears suitable for virtually all patients with clinically node-negative (cN0) invasive disease. However, its role in Paget's disease of the breast, a condition in which invasion may or may not be present, remains undefined. METHODS: Among 7,083 consecutive SLN biopsy procedures, we retrospectively identified 39 patients with Paget's disease of the breast. Nineteen patients had no associated clinical/radiographic features ("Paget's only"), and 20 patients had associated clinical/radiographic findings ("Paget's with findings"). RESULTS: The mean ages for the Paget's alone and with findings groups were 63.6 and 49.6 years, respectively. The use of breast conservation therapy was 32% in the Paget's alone group and 10% in the Paget's with findings group. Invasive carcinoma was found in 27% of patients in the Paget's alone group and 55% of patients in the Paget's with findings group. The success rate of SLN biopsy was 98%, and the mean number of SLNs removed was 3 in both groups. In the entire cohort of Paget's disease, 28% (11/39) of the patients had positive SLNs (11%, Paget's alone; 45%, Paget's with findings). CONCLUSION: In our "Paget's only" cohort, invasive cancer was found in 27% of cases and positive SLNs in 11%. SLN biopsy should be considered in all patients with Paget's disease of the breast, whether associated clinical/radiographic findings are present.

Magnetic resonance imaging detects unsuspected disease in patients with invasive lobular cancer.

BACKGROUND: Predicting the extent of disease in the breasts of patients with invasive lobular cancer (ILC) can be difficult because of the limits of physical examination and standard imaging. We determined the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in finding otherwise unsuspected cancer in the ipsilateral or contralateral breast of patients with ILC. METHODS: Through database review of all breast MRIs performed between January 1, 1999, and December 30, 2002, we identified patients with newly diagnosed ILC who underwent an MRI for extent-of-disease evaluation or contralateral screening. MRI findings separate from the primary tumor were biopsied and correlated with pathology by using MRI-guided biopsy. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients were identified. In all, 59 ipsilateral and 57 contralateral studies were performed. Suspicious lesions separate from the primary tumor were found by MRI in 38 (61%) of 62 patients. Eight patients were excluded from further analysis (seven elected mastectomy without biopsy; one had an unguided excision). Nineteen of 51 patients with an ipsilateral finding underwent MRI-guided biopsy, which revealed cancer in 11, or 22% of those imaged. Twenty of 53 patients with a contralateral finding underwent MRI-guided biopsy, which revealed cancer in 5, or 9% of those imaged. CONCLUSIONS: MRI of the breast identifies unsuspected multicentric or contralateral cancer in patients with ILC. These findings support the use of MRI in selected patients with ILC, particularly in the ipsilateral breast.

Intradermal isotope injection: a highly accurate method of lymphatic mapping in breast carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The combined approach of radioactive tracer and blue-dye mapping of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) has evolved into a safe and effective alternative to routine axillary node dissection in specific patient populations with breast carcinoma. The optimal route of injection for the isotope has not been clearly defined. To assess the intradermal route of isotope injection, we prospectively evaluated 100 patients with biopsy-proven invasive breast carcinoma with SLN biopsy followed by planned axillary node dissection. METHODS: All patients were given an intradermal injection of Tc-99m sulfur colloid and an intraparenchymal injection of blue dye. All patients underwent a complete axillary node dissection. Each sentinel node was serially sectioned and examined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Sentinel nodes were successfully identified in 99% of cases. Forty-six patients had axillary metastases; of these, four had falsely negative sentinel nodes (false-negative rate, 9%). The false-negative rate was 0 of 24 (0%) for T1 tumors, 2 of 18 (11%) for T2 tumors, and 2 of 4 (50%) for T3 tumors. Three of four patients with false negatives had palpable, clinically suspicious axillary nodes found intraoperatively. If these cases are excluded, the accuracy of the procedure was 100% for T1 and T2 tumors. Of the 42 positive axillae identified by SLNB (true positives), 40 were localized using the intradermal injection of radioisotope; in 13 of these cases, this was the only method that identified the true-positive node. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that intradermal injection of radioactive tracer is an effective method of localizing the SLN in cases involving small breast cancers. Further investigation is warranted before this technique is adopted for use in larger breast cancers. Intraoperative examination and biopsy of any suspicious nonsentinel nodes are critical.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with male breast carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is now a widely implemented technique for evaluating the axilla in women with early stage breast carcinoma. Men who develop breast carcinoma are at similar risk as their female counterparts of developing the morbidities related to axillary dissection. SLNB is aimed at preventing these morbidities. In this study, the authors evaluated the role of SLNB in the treatment of men with early stage breast carcinoma. METHODS: Among the 1692 patients who underwent SLNB at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 16 men with breast carcinoma were identified. The charts and records of these 16 patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 57.2 years. The mean tumor size was 1.3 cm. In 15 of 16 patients (93.75%) and in all patients with T1 tumors, one or more sentinel lymph nodes were successfully identified. SLNB failed in one patient, who had a T2 tumor (3 cm). Ten of the 15 patients had negative sentinel lymph nodes (66.7%). Four of these patients had no additional lymph nodes removed, whereas six patients had additional lymph nodes removed, all of which were negative. Two patients (13.3%) had positive sentinel lymph nodes on frozen-section analysis and underwent immediate completion axillary dissection: Both had additional positive lymph nodes. Three patients (20.0%) had positive sentinel lymph nodes on further sectioning or immunohistochemistry, and two patients underwent completion axillary dissection: Neither patient had additional positive lymph nodes. The third patient had one immunohistochemically positive lymph node and did not undergo completion axillary dissection. CONCLUSIONS: SLNB for patients with breast carcinoma was as successful in men as it has been shown to be in women and may be offered as a management option to men with early stage breast carcinoma by surgeons who are experienced with the technique.

Impact of sentinel lymph node mapping on relative charges in patients with early-stage breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of SLNB has allowed accurate staging in early-stage breast carcinomas and has minimized the number of unnecessary ALNDs. Intraoperative frozen-section analysis is a fundamental component of the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) procedure. Some patients have positive nodes on frozen-section analysis and thus undergo a conventional axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) at the time of the SLNB. A few patients have negative nodes on frozen-section analysis but have subsequent evidence of metastases on final pathologic examination. The purpose of our study was 2-fold: to compare the hospital-related charges of patients undergoing staging by SLNB with those of patients undergoing conventional ALND and to assess whether the different outcomes associated with SLNB adversely affect the charges incurred with this procedure. METHODS: Our study group consisted of 100 patients with T1 breast cancer and breast conservation therapy who underwent either SLNB or ALND from July 1, 1997, to June 30, 1998. We identified the first 50 consecutive patients to undergo SLNB during this period. We chose a similar cohort of 50 patients for ALND. Mean hospital-related charges for the SLNB patients were categorized and compared with those for the ALND patients. RESULTS: Results for the two groups were analyzed using a two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Charges for the OR and hospital stay were less for the SLNB group (P < .05). Frozen-section analysis in the SLNB group contributed to the significant difference in charges for pathologic evaluation. Overall, the two groups showed no significant difference in total hospital-related charges. CONCLUSIONS: When SLNB is used for T1 tumors, a small percentage of patients (10% in our study) will return to the operating room for an ALND. This small percentage does not increase the charges related to SLNB, however, as the reduced stay for most patients offsets this subgroup's contribution to the total hospital-related charges. Thus, in patients with clinical stage I breast cancer, SLNB does not cause significantly higher hospital-related charges compared with conventional ALND.