Detecting Occult Sentinel Node Metastases: More Information Is Not Always Better

Breast cancer survival at 5 years was largely unaffected by occult metastases.

With the introduction of sentinel lymph node sampling, axillary node dissections have become less common — and specialized testing of the sampled lymph node or nodes with immunohistochemistry (IHC) has enabled identification of isolated tumor cells or small-volume disease that would not be detected with routine hematoxylin-eosin (H & E) staining. However, the predictive implications of such IHC-detected disease have been debated.

Now, investigators have conducted a controlled cohort study within the NSABP B-32 trial (which was designed to evaluate survival benefits of sentinel lymph node biopsy alone vs. complete axillary dissection). The goal of the current study was to evaluate the prognostic roles of isolated tumor-cell clusters (≤0.2 mm)…

Reviewing Author

William J. Gradishar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead

Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation

Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)