Clinical Application of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early Breast Cancer Patients

Objective To evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy(SLNB) in the early breast cancer.Methods 136 cases of early breast cancer patients from May 2003 to November 2006 in our hospital were performed with SLNB before operation.The methylene blue injection was induced by intracutaneous or subcutaneous injection at the site of the primary breast cancer or breast halo,to find the sentinel lymph node(SLN) and extirpate them;all SLN received rapid pathologic examination.The negative SLN should be exempt from axillary lymph node dissection(ALND).Results All patients found SLN,the positive rate was 100%,and the false positive rate was 0.All patients were exempt from ALND,the postoperative follow-up was 2 to 5 years and 6 months,no recurrence,revival and tumor metastasis were found so the false negative rate was 0.Conclusion Our study indicates that intraoprative lymphatic mapping using methylene blue and SLNB can accurately predict the lymph node status.SLNB is practical and easy to master,and it can replace ALND for early breast cancer patients.