Current European studies of sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer

The paradigm shift in the assessment of the axilla in breast surgery has evoked specific clinical issues. In a population where breast cancer is diagnosed early and service screening mammography is applied, the chance for a woman to be free of lymph node metastases is approximately 60%. Currently, there are three ongoing and one published randomized series on sentinel node lymphadenectomy in Europe, comprising more than 100 patients. These studies address the important issues of morbidity, quality of life and long-term outcome measures such as survival and recurrence.