ABSTRACT
Objective To study the application value and safety of sentinel lymph node biopsy ( SLNB) replacing axillary lymph node dissection ( ALND) for patients with early breast cancer .Methods Data was col-lected for patients undergoing SLNB or ALND in the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University from June 2011 to June 2014.The complication of upper extremity , axillary local recurrence and distant metastasis were retro-spectively analyzed.The patients were followed up to Nov .2014, with the median follow-up of 41 ( 18-52 ) months.Results Patients undergoing SLNB had less postoperative complications of upper extremity ( numb and painχ2 =18.174, P =0.000;Restricted movement χ2 =20.413, P =0.000; Strength loss χ2 =23.785, P =0.000;P0.05).Conclusion In early breast cancer without SLN, SLNB can achieve the equivalent effect to ALND with less damage and complications .