Can Complete Axillary Node Dissection Be Safely Omitted in Patients with Early Breast Cancer When the Sentinel Node Biopsy Is Positive for Malignancy? An Update for Clinical Practice

Abstract

The sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has become the new standard-of-care for patients with clinically node-negative invasive breast cancer. The focused examination of fewer lymph nodes in addition to improvements in histopathological and molecular analysis have increased the rate at which micrometastases and isolated tumor cells are identified. We reviewed the literature and summarized the evidence regarding the need for complete axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) following the finding of a positive sentinel node biopsy through the identification of the most important outcomes and evaluation of quality of evidence. The article focuses on the safe omission of complete ALND when the axillary lymph nodes contain macrometastases and provides an overview of the topic primarily based on level 1 evidence derived from randomized clinical trials with a critical appraisal of the ACOSOG Z0011 trial.

Keywords: Sentinel lymph node biopsy; axillary dissection; axillary radiotherapy; clinical practice update; early breast cancer; evidence-based medicine; review.