Rapid peroperative assessment of axillary lymph node status using imprint cytology

Sentinel lymph node biopsy for invasive breast cancer is a new technique that has been shown to be accurate in staging the axilla. Patients with a positive sentinel node will potentially need a second operation to clear the axilla. A reliable technique for assessing lymph nodes intraoperatively could potentially avoid this second procedure. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of peroperative imprint cytology of axillary lymph nodes in patients with invasive breast carcinoma. A total of 157 nodes were studied. One-hundred and nineteen nodes were both negative on imprint cytology and paraffin section. Thirty-eight nodes were positive on imprint cytology. Of these, 37 were positive on histology. Imprint cytology is a rapid technique that is inexpensive and has been shown to be reliable in this and other studies. It may prove to be of value in patients undergoing sentinel lymph-node biopsy for breast carcinoma.