A declining rate of complete axillary dissection in sentinel lymph node–positive breast cancer patients was associated with the use of a multivariate nomogram.
Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is standard treatment for breast cancer patients with sentinel lymph node (SLN)-positive disease. However, certain subgroups of SLN-positive patients might not require ALND, because their risk for additional lymph node metastases is minimal. A validated multivariate nomogram that predicts the percent likelihood of residual axillary disease is available. Researchers retrospectively evaluated use of ALND at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center before and after the development and implementation of this nomogram in 2003. Among 1960 consecutive SLN-positive patients, 1673 (85%) underwent ALND (SLN+/ALND) and 287 (15%) did not (SLN+/no ALND) from 1997 through 2004. The two groups were compared in terms of …
Reviewing Author
Henry Mark Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS
Henry Mark Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS