Sentinel node biopsy shows low false-negative rate after chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer

A prospective study evaluated sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for axillary staging in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (cT4 and/or cN2/N3) who achieved clinical nodal response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Among 87 patients with adequate nodal mapping, the sentinel node identification rate was 74% and the false-negative rate was 2.1% (95% CI, 0.1 to 12.7), with a nodal pathologic complete response rate of 46%. The authors state these findings suggest SLNB may be an appropriate method to stage the axilla in this population after downstaging with chemotherapy.

Most relevant for: Patients with locally advanced breast cancer (cT4 and/or cN2/N3) who have a clinical nodal response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

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