The detection and clinical significance of sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer

Objective: To study the detection methods of micrometastasis and clinical value of sentinel lymph node（SLN） biopsy in the management of breast cancer. Methods: ^99mTc-DX particles were injected into the breast tissue adjacent to the primary tumor or resection cavity. After 2～4 hours the SLN identified by gamma detector were dissected out, followed by an axillary lymph node dissection（ALND）. The SLN and ALN were evaluated with histopathology, immunohistochemistry（IHC） and RT-PCR （examined CK19 mRNA）. Results: The SLNs were identified in 116 of 125 patients, altogether 235 SLNs were harvested, an average of 2.0 SLNs was examined. The sensitivity, accuracy, false positive, false negative of SLNB in this study was 97.9%, 99.0%, 0%, and 2.1% respectively. Conclusion: Gamma detector probe can be used for SLN detecting in breast cancer patients. SLNB combined with local resection was safe to the breast cancer patients with negative SLN.