Abstract

Axillary nodal status remains the most important prognostic indicator in patients with breast cancer. Axillary dissection (AD) has been the standard procedure for determining the nodal stage in breast cancer. However, the patiend who undergoaxillary dissection has became a controversial topic in breast cancer therapy especially in node-negative patiends. Sentinal lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has emerged as an alternative to AD. The sential lymphnode (SLN) is the first lymph node to receive lymphatic drainage from the tumor. It can be detected by injektion of vital blue dye or radioactive matherial around the peritumoral or subcutaneous regions. If the SLN does not contain tumor cells, probably rest of the other nodes in axilla are negative for tumoral involvement. Current data suggest that, using of the combination of the two techniques, vital blue dye and gamma detection yields the most accurate result in SLN detection for patiends with breast cancer. Success and false (negative ) rates are changes between 65-98 % and 0-5 % respectively, in many different clinics. As a conclusion, SLN biopsy may be an alternative metod to AD in clinically node-negative patients. However, axillary dissection still provide the best local control and has still been the gold standard in node-positive patients.