Axillary Ultrasound After Preoperative Chemotherapy in Node-Positive Breast Cancer

Ultrasound imaging after neoadjuvant chemotherapy lacks specificity to determine a pathologic complete nodal response.

Axillary ultrasound (AUS) imaging is routinely used to evaluate axillary lymph-node morphology in patients with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer. To determine whether it can help identify residual nodal disease after preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients who present with node-positive disease, investigators reviewed postchemotherapy AUS images for 611 eligible patients with initial biopsy-proved, axillary-nodal metastases.

The study radiologist was blinded to imaging, pathology, and surgical reports. AUS images were classified as normal or abnormal based on cortical thickness and fatty hilum visibility. Final AUS results were compared with final pathology results and correlated with the sentinel lymph node false-negative ra…

Reviewing Author

Henry Mark Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS

Disclosures

Speaker's BureauPhysicians’ Education Resource, LLC

RoyaltiesMcGraw-Hill Professional; UpToDate, Inc.

Editorial BoardsAnnals of Surgical Oncology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Breast Surgeons (Chair, Publications Committee)