Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.

ABSTRACT

Sentinel lymph node biopsy techniques have evolved in a short period of time to become a highly accurate method for the pathologic staging of clinically node-negative breast cancers. Multiple single and multi-institutional studies have confirmed a high accuracy of pathologic staging (95-100%) with reasonable false-negative rates (0-15%). The use of vital blue dyes, radioactive isotopes, or a combination of the two are the most commonly employed techniques used for this procedure. Currently, two large prospective randomized Phase III clinical trials supported by the National Cancer Institute are underway, which will define the effectiveness of these techniques as compared to standard axillary dissection in regards to regional disease control and patient survival.