Dissection axillary lymph node count in patient with breast cancer followed by neoadjuvant therapy

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second cause of death in women. It is essential to have the highest level of confidence in axillary staging assessment. Many surgeons and pathologists believe that fewer lymph nodes are present in axillary dissection specimens of women treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to compare the lymph node counts of axillary dissection specimens from patients having received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with those of patients treated with primary operation. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 100 women with invasive breast cancer who underwent level I and II axillary lymph node dissections from 2012 through 2013 in Quaem hospital surgery department . these patients dichotomized into two categories: Women from the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group (n=50) were compared with those from the primary surgery group (n=50). The total number of lymph nodes harvested was compared ,the obtained data was analyzed by SPSS software (V: 16), using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney at the significant level P<0/05. Results: range of age in Neoadjuvant and Surgery group respectively was 23–68 and 26–89 years. The median number of lymph nodes retrieved in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group was 14.0 (range 5 to 25) compared with 16 (range 5 to 32) in Surgery-first group, although there was not statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.122). Tumor stage and nodal stage were significantly higher in the neoadjuvant group (p≤0.001). Conclusions: This study suggests that administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy to breast cancer patient's results in a reduced number of lymph nodes retrieved in the axillary dissection specimens.