Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer Surgery with Simple Pathology Facilities-An Iranian Experience

Status of axillary lymph node is an important factor in staging, prognosis and guiding treatment selection in early breast cancer. Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) is a revolutionary concept in solid tumor surgery which has been introduced since 1993 in breast cancer (Krag et al., 1993). SLN is the first lymph node (LN) which drains the lymph flow from the primary tumor site. Its careful examination could accurately detect the spread of tumor cell with less aggressive surgical procedures and less morbidity (including Lymphedema, paresthesis, pain and restriction of arm motion) than axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) as the standard surgical approach to lymphatic staging (Fleissig et al., 2006; Del et al., 2008; Ashikaga et al., 2010). On the other hand, about 30% of axillary LNs are positive in early breast cancer and as a consequence, two-third of patients receive no benefit of