Volume 4,Issue 2
Objective: The feasibility and safety of double-tracer sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the possibility of exempting axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Methods: The clinical data of 116 patients admitted to the Second Department of Breast Surgery of Baotou Cancer Hospital from July 2020 to May 2023 were collected. The patients underwent SLNB after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the data of the patients were analyzed. Results: Among the 116 breast cancer patients who underwent SLNB, sentinel lymph node (SLN) was not detected in 1 case, indicating a detection rate of 99.13% (115/116); 35 cases were positive for ALN and 22 cases were positive for SLN, indicating a sensitivity of 62.86 % (22/35); SLNB was successfully performed in 115 cases, indicating an accuracy of 73.91 % (85/115); 7 cases were false negative, and 35 cases were ALN positive, with a false negative rate of 37.14 % (13/35). Conclusion: SLNB cannot wholly replace ALND in breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In this experiment, when the number of SLN detected was ≥ 3 or when the breast mass reached pathological complete response, the dual-tracer SLNB could accurately predict the local status of ALN. However, randomized clinical trials with large sample sizes will be needed to consolidate this conclusion.