Sentinel Lymph Node Methods in Breast Cancer

Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, vol. 52, pp. 551–560

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer diagnosed in women worldwide. Accurate lymph node staging is essential for both prognosis (of early-stage disease) and treatment (for regional control of disease) in patients with breast cancer. The sentinel lymph nodes are the regional nodes that directly drain lymph from the primary tumor. No imaging modality is accurate enough to detect lymph node metastases when a primary breast cancer is at an early stage (I or II), but sentinel lymph node biopsy is a highly reliable method for screening axillary nodes and for identifying metastatic (including micro-metastatic) disease in regional lymph nodes. Despite the widespread use of sentinel lymph node biopsy for early-stage breast cancer, relevant variations have been described regarding practical aspects of the procedure, and some variability has initially been reported regarding the rates of intraoperative sentinel lymph node identification and of false-negative findings, most likely because of differences in the size of the populations being investigated and in lymphatic mapping techniques. Nevertheless, using adequate learning curves and once a multidisciplinary team is experienced with the procedure, improved levels of accuracy are achieved.

Authors 12

1. Francesco Giammarile corresponding

   International Atomic Energy Agency · Centre Léon Bérard

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria; Service de Médecine Nucléaire, Centre Léon Berard, Lyon, France. Electronic address: f.giammarile@iaea.org

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

   Service de Médecine Nucléaire, Centre Léon Berard, Lyon, France

2. Sergi Vidal‐Sicart

   Hospital Clínic de Barcelona · Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital Clinic Barcelona and Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain

3. Diana Páez

   International Atomic Energy Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

4. Olivier Pellet

   International Atomic Energy Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

5. Enrique Estrada-Lobato

   International Atomic Energy Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

6. Miriam Mikhail-Lette

   International Atomic Energy Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

7. Olga Morozova

   International Atomic Energy Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

8. Navarro Marulanda Maria Camila

   International Atomic Energy Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

9. Rodríguez Sanchez Diana Ivonne

   International Atomic Energy Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

10. Roberto Carlos Delgado Bolton

    Hospital San Pedro · Center for Biomedical Research of La Rioja

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Diagnostic Imaging (Radiology) and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital San Pedro and Centre for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR), Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

11. Renato Alfredo Valdés Olmos Aachen Department of Radiology Section of Nuclear Medicine & Interventional Molecular Imaging Laboratory

    Leiden University Medical Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Radiology, Section of Nuclear Medicine & Interventional Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Leiden University Medical Center, ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands

12. Giuliano Mariani

    University of Pisa

    Affiliation as printed

    Regional Center of Nuclear Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy