How many sentinel lymph nodes should we excise?

Sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer: how many nodes are enough?

INTRODUCTION Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy using blue dye and radioisotope often results in the removal of multiple SLNs. We sought to determine whether there is a point where the surgeon can terminate the procedure without sacrificing accuracy. METHODS One thousand one hundred ninety-seven patients from University of Michigan and the Mayo Clinic undergoing SLN biopsy formed the study popu...

How Many Sentinel Lymph Nodes Are Enough for Accurate Axillary Staging in T1-2 Breast Cancer?

PURPOSE During a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for breast cancer, the appropriate number of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) to be removed for accurate axillary staging is still controversial. We hypothesized that there might be an optimal threshold number of SLNs. We investigated how many SLNs should be removed to achieve an acceptable accuracy and ensure minimal morbidity. METHODS We reviewe...

How many great earthquakes should we expect?

G reat earthquakes of magnitude 8.5 or larger occur infrequently. For a nearly 40-y period after the February of 1965 M 8.7 Rat Islands, Alaska earthquake, the world did not experience a single great earthquake; however, in the 7 y since late December of 2004, there have been a barrage of five great earthquakes. These earthquakes include the 2004 M 9.1 Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake; the 2005 M ...

Histopathological workup of sentinel lymph nodes: how much is enough?

Positive sentinel lymph nodes should be followed by axillary lymph node dissection

The use of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has revolutionized breast surgery for early stage breast cancer. SLNB accurately stages the axilla without the morbidity of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). While allowing those patients with No disease to avoid a potentially morbid dissection, SLNB is a diagnostic procedure which identifies nodal disease and is not designed to replace ALND in ...