The lancet oncology
-
The lancet oncology · Jul 2014
ReviewNovel techniques for sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer: a systematic review.
The existing standard for axillary lymph node staging in breast cancer patients with a clinically and radiologically normal axilla is sentinel lymph node biopsy with a radioisotope and blue dye (dual technique). The dependence on radioisotopes means that uptake of the procedure is limited to only about 60% of eligible patients in developed countries and is negligible elsewhere. ⋯ We could not identify any technique that challenged the existing standard procedure. Further assessment of these techniques against the standard dual technique in randomised trials is needed.