Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer: Technical aspects and controversies

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Breast Cancer Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sentinel node biopsy has rapidly emerged as a minimally invasive, highly accurate method of axillary staging, and has replaced routine axillary lymph node dissection as the new standard of care in breast cancer. However, many practical problems remain and details of the technique have not been standardized yet. Guideline recommendations help us to perform appropriate sentinel node biopsy and pathological examination. We should perform sentinel node biopsy without deviation from such consensus guidelines.

The technical controversies of sentinel node biopsy are discussed in this article and the results of our studies about sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer are reviewed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Giuliano AE, Kirgan DM, Guenther JM, Morton DL: Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy for breast cancer.Ann Surg 220:391–401, 1994.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Giuliano AE, Jones RC, Brennan M, Statman R: Sentinel lymphadenectomy in breast cancer.J Clin Oncol 15:2345–2350, 1997.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Motomura K, Inaji H, Komoike Y, Kasugai T, Nagumo S, Noguchi S, Koyama H: Sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patients with clinically negative lymphnodes.Breast Cancer 6:259–262, 1999.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Krag D, Weaver D, Ashikaga T, Moffat F, Klimberg VS, Shriver C, Feldman S, Kusminsky R, Gadd M, Kuhn J, Harlow S, Beitsch P: The sentinel node in breast cancer: A multicenter validation study.N Engl J Med 339:941–946, 1998.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Veronesi U, Paganelli G, Galimberti V, Viale G, Zurrida S, Bedoni M, Costa A, de Cicco C, Geraghty JG, Luini A, Sacchini V, Veronesi P: Sentinel-node biopsy to avoid axillary dissection in breast cancer with clinically negative lymph-nodes.Lancet 349:1864–1867, 1997.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Albertini JJ, Lyman GH, Cox C, Yeatman T, Balducci L, Ku N, Shivers S, Berman C, Wells K, Rapaport D, Shons A, Horton J, Greenberg H, Nicosia S, Clark R, Cantor A, Reintgen DS: Lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy in the patient with breast cancer.JAMA 276:1818–1822, 1996.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Schwartz GF, Giuliano AE, Veronesi U; Consensus Conference Committee. Proceedings of the consensus conference on the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in carcinoma of the breast, April 19–22, 2001, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Cancer 94:2542–2551, 2002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lyman GH, Giuliano AE, Somerfield MR, Benson AB, 3rd, Bodurka DC, Burstein HJ, Cochran AJ, Cody HS, 3rd, Edge SB, Galper S, Hayman JA, Kim TY, Perkins CL, Podoloff DA, Sivasubramaniam VH, Turner RR, Wahl R, Weaver DL, Wolff AC, Winer EP: American Society of Clinical Oncology guideline recommendations for sentinel lymph node biopsy in early-stage breast cancer.J Clin Oncol 23:7703–7720, 2005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Kuehn T, Bembenek A, Decker T, Munz DL, Sautter Bihl ML, Untch M, Wallwiener D, Consensus Committee of the German Society of Senology: A concept for the clinical implementation of sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with breast carcinoma with special regard to quality assurance.Cancer 103:451–61, 2005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Motomura K, Inaji H, Komoike Y, Hasegawa Y, Kasugai T, Noguchi S, Koyama H: Combination technique is superior to dye alone in identification of the sentinel node in breast cancer.J Surg Oncol 76:95–99, 2001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. http://www.breastsurgeons.org

  12. Nieweg O: Lymphatics of the breast and the rationale for different injection techniques.Ann Surg Oncol 8 9 Suppl:71S-73, 2001.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. McMasters KM, Wong SL, Martin RC 2nd, Chao C, Turtle TM, Noyes RD, Carlson DJ, Laidley AL, McGlothin TQ, Ley PB, Brown CM, Glaser RL, Pennington RE, Turk PS, Simpson D, Cerrito PB, Edwards MJ, University of Louisville Breast Cancer Study Group.: Dermal injection of radioactive colloid is superior to peritumoral injection for breast cancer sentinel lymph node biopsy: results of a multiinstitutional study.Ann Surg 233:676–687, 2001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Chagpar A, Martin RC 3rd, Chao C, Wong SL, Edwards MJ, Turtle T, McMasters KM: Validation of subareolar and periareolar injection techniques for breast sentinel lymph node biopsy.Arch Surg 139:614–618, 2004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Motomura K, Komoike Y, Hasegawa Y, Kasugai T, Inaji H, Noguchi S, Koyama H: Intradermal radioisotope injection is superior to subdermal injection for the identification of the sentinel node in breast cancer patients.J Surg Oncol 82:91–96, 2003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Motomura K, Inaji H, Komoike Y, Kasugai T, Nagumo S, Hasegawa Y, Noguchi S, Koyama H: Gamma probe and ultrasonographically-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.Eur J Surg Oncol 27:141–145, 2001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Motomura K, Inaji H, Komoike Y, Kasugai T, Nagumo S, Noguchi S, Koyama H: Intraoperative sentinel lymph node examination by imprint cytology and frozen sectioning during breast surgery.Br J Surg 87:597–601, 2000.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Motomura K, Noguchi A, Hashizume T, Hasegawa Y, Komoike Y, Inaji H, Saida T, Koyama H: Usefulness of a solid-state gamma camera for sentinel node identification in patients with breast cancer.J Surg Oncol 89:12–17, 2005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Chu KU, Turner RR, Hansen NM, Brennan MB, Bilchik A, Giuliano AE: Do all patients with sentinel node metastasis from breat carcinoma need complete axillary node dissection?Ann Surg 229:536–541, 1999.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Reynolds C, Mick R, Donohue JH, Grant CS, Farley DR, Callans LS, Orel SG, Keeney GL, Lawton TJ, Czerniecki BJ: Sentinel lymph node biopsy with metastasis: Can axillary dissection be avoided in some patients with breast cancer?J Clin Oncol 17:1720–1726, 1999.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Viale G, Maiorano E, Pruneri G, Mastropasqua MG, Valentini S, Galimberti V, Zurrida S, Maisonneuve P, Paganelli G, Mazzarol G: Predicting the risk for additional axillary metastases in patients with breast carcinoma and positive sentinel lymph node biopsy.Ann Surg 241:319–325, 2005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Degnim AC, Griffith KA, Sabel MS, Hayes DF, Cimmino VM, Diehl KM, Lucas PC, Snyder ML, Chang AE, Newman LA: Clinicopathologic features of metastasis in nonsentinel lymph nodes of breast carcinoma patients.Cancer 98:2307–2315, 2003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Motomura K, Egawa C, Komoike Y, Nagumo S, Koyama H, Inaji H: Three axillary lymph node sampling for the prediction of non-sentinel node metastases in breast cancer patients with sentinel node metastases.Ann Surg Oncol 13:985–989, 2006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Motomura K, Komoike Y, Inaji H, Hasegawa Y, Kasugai T, Noguchi S, Koyama H: Multiple sectioning and immunohistochemical staining of sentinel nodes in patients with breast cancer.Br J Surg 89:1032–1034, 2002.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. American Joint Committee on Cancer. Breast. In: Greene FL, page DL, Fleming ID, Fritz AG, Balch CM, Haller DG, Morrow M eds. AJCC Cancer Staging Handbook, 6th ed. Springer, New York, ppl55–181, 2002.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Surgery, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Japan

    Kazuyoshi Motomura, Chiyomi Egawa, Yoshifumi Komoike, Hiroki Koyama & Hideo Inaji

  2. Departments of Pathology, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Japan

    Tatsuki Kataoka

  3. Departments of Cytology, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Japan

    Sachiko Nagumo

Authors
  1. Kazuyoshi Motomura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chiyomi Egawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yoshifumi Komoike
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tatsuki Kataoka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sachiko Nagumo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hiroki Koyama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hideo Inaji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kazuyoshi Motomura.

About this article

Cite this article

Motomura, K., Egawa, C., Komoike, Y. et al. Sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer: Technical aspects and controversies. Breast Cancer 14, 25–30 (2007). https://doi.org/10.2325/jbcs.14.25

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2325/jbcs.14.25

Key words

Search

Navigation