Innovative approach to lymphadenectomy in breast sarcoma

Lymphatic dissemination is thought to be a rare event in breast sarcomas. The decision to perform axillary clearance is challenging. In our prospective cohort, we aimed to evaluate the frequency and factors determining lymph node (LN) involvement in breast sarcomas, with the aim of proposing a decision tree/algorithm for the realization of LN clearance in breast sarcomas.

Fourty-five women were surgically treated for breast sarcomas from 1982 to 2020. Angiosarcomas and other sarcomas were compared in terms of LN involvement, recurrence, and mortality.

Twenty-three patients underwent axillary lymphadenectomy. Initial LN involvement was diagnosed in one case of D2-40 positive, primary angiosarcoma for which preoperative imaging detected a suspicious LN confirmed by preoperative histology. Among the 22 patients who had no initial axillary lymphadenectomy, two patients with D2-40 positive angiosarcoma had recurrent cancer in LN (internal mammary group in 1 and homolateral axilla in 1). The average follow-up in the overall population was 6.2 years (±8.3). The cohort's overall recurrence rate was 33% (15/45) and the time of recurrence after initial surgery was on average 2.4 years (±3.1). For the three patients with LN metastases, time to recurrence after surgery was 3.7 years (±4.5). There was no significant difference in the overall recurrence rate depending on whether or not lymphadenectomy was initially performed (respectively 26% vs 41% OR=1.11, P=0.29).

Systematic axillary clearance leads to overtreatment in breast sarcomas. A decision tree, including radiological examination of the axilla, histological type of sarcoma, and D2-40 positivity, could be a decision aid in the choice of axillary clearance.