Improved staging of breast cancer through lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy

Sentinel node biopsy is a less invasive technique for staging breast cancer than complete axillary lymph-node dissection and may be as accurate. In the case of a 71-year-old woman with a T1 breast cancer, sentinel node biopsy improved staging. Metastases were discovered in sentinel nodes outside the axilla while the axillary nodes were tumour-free.