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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Multispectral Real-time Fluorescence Imaging for Intraoperative Detection of the Sentinel Lymph Node in Gynecologic Oncology
Published on: October 20, 2010
A second radioisotope injection enhances intraoperative sentinel node identification in breast cancer patients
J P Leikola1, E A Leppänen, K A J von Smitten
1Breast Surgery Unit, Maria Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. junny.leikola@hus.fi
Purpose:
To evaluate the influence of a second radioisotope injection on the intraoperative success rate in patients with non-visualized axillary sentinel nodes (SN).
Material And Methods:
Altogether, 534 consecutive breast cancer patients with lymphoscintigraphy (LS) and SN biopsy and were included. An intratumoral injection of 99mTc-labeled human albumin colloid with a median dose of 93 MBq was applied. Forty-two of the 80 patients without axillary hot spots on LS received a second tracer injection with a median dose of 70 MBq.
Results:
The visualization rate of axillary SN was 454/534 (85%). The intraoperative SN identification rate was 97% in patients with and 69% in patients without visualized SN in the axilla (P<0.00005), but the success rate was higher (88%) with a second radioisotope injection than without it (47%; P<0.0002).
Conclusion:
The failure rate in intraoperative SN identification was minimized using a second radioisotope injection in patients without axillary SN on LS.
