Feasibility and Oncological Safety of Axillary Reverse Mapping in Patients With Locally Advanced Breast Cancer and Partial Response After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIM: Axillary reverse mapping (ARM) aims to identify and preserve arm drainage in order to prevent lymphedema following axillary lymph node dissection. Oncological-safety and feasibility are still debated, especially in patients with locally-advanced breast cancer (LABC). We report the first case of the AXMAP 1.0 study performed in our Institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 52-year-old patient with a triple-negative LABC and partial response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy underwent axillary lymph-node dissection using fluorescence ARM. RESULTS: Two lymph-nodes draining the ipsilateral upper arm were identified and were not preserved due to suspicion of malignancy. Pathological examination confirmed the presence of malignancy in both lymph nodes. CONCLUSION: Further studies should be designed in order to validate the oncological safety of this technique, especially in patients with LABC requiring neoadjuvant chemotherapy.