To determine the feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in this study, the investigators evaluated the false-negative rate (FNR) of SLNB. The FNR was calculated as the number of patients with negative SLNs who had a residual disease in the rest of the axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) divided by the total number of patients with residual disease in either the SLNs, the rest of the ALNs, or both: FN/true-positive + FN. The investigators compared the FNR of the SLNB according to the radiologic response measured using breast MRI in each subtype. The investigators further evaluated the FNR in subgroups stratified by clinical nodal stage. Additionally, the investigators assessed additional metastatic ALNs in cases with 1-2 metastatic SLNs through the completion of ALN dissection.
This study aimed to determine whether sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) could be a reliable option for evaluating nodal status in patients who had responded well to neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NAST), even if they had initially presented with a high nodal burden. The study investigated the outcomes of SLNB followed by axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in this patient population, taking into account the response to NAST and the breast cancer subtype.