[Identification of sentinel lymph node: Comparison between SNOLL and routine isotopic procedure]

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Radiology

Background:

• Axillary staging is crucial for predicting recurrence and survival in breast cancer patients.
• Sentinel node biopsy is a standard procedure for staging.
• Sentinel Node Occult Lesion Localization (SNOLL) offers a dual approach for localizing impalpable breast lesions and performing sentinel node biopsy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of SNOLL with the standard radioisotope method for sentinel node localization via lymphoscintigraphy in breast carcinoma patients.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective study of 100 breast carcinoma patients undergoing sentinel node biopsy.
• Comparison of SNOLL (65 patients) and standard radioisotope method (35 patients).
• Evaluation of sentinel node localization failure rates using lymphoscintigraphy, intraoperatively, and with combined methods.

Main Results:

• SNOLL exhibited significantly higher failure rates for sentinel node localization by lymphoscintigraphy (34% vs. 11%, P=0.02).
• Intraoperative and combined method failure rates were also higher with SNOLL (17% vs. 9% and 11% vs. 6%, respectively).

Conclusions:

• SNOLL demonstrates a higher failure rate for sentinel node localization compared to the standard radioisotope method.
• Combining SNOLL with radioisotope and colorimetric methods may reduce failure rates.
• Further validation in larger studies is recommended.