Accuracy Rate of Methylene Blue Injection in Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objective: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women and can spread to the lymph nodes in the axilla. The sentinel lymph node is the first lymph node to be targeted for the spread or metastasis of cancer cells involving the lymph nodes. The aim of this study is to compare the accuracy rate of methylene blue injection into sentinel lymph nodes in early-stage breast cancer patients who have undergone incisional and excisional biopsies. Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted in two general hospitals in West Java, Indonesia. The research subjects in this study were early-stage breast cancer patients with no lymph node metastasis (N0) who had undergone a biopsy. There were 83 study subjects included in this study. The sentinel lymph node biopsy was taken after injection of methylene blue into the peritumoral area. Blue nodes in the axilla were marked as positive lymph node biopsy results and sent for histopathology examination. Results: Patients who underwent excisional biopsy surgery had a sensitivity rate of 85.3% and a specificity of 93.3%, while the accuracy rate in patients who underwent incisional biopsy surgery had a sensitivity rate of 79.2% and a specificity of 80%. Conclusion: There was no difference in the accuracy of SLNB using methylene blue in patients with early-stage breast cancer with N0 who had a history of incisional and excisional biopsy.

Validation of Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ) in Indonesian Bahasa Language as simple assessment of perceived immune status.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether the ISQ can be used to assess immune status in daily clinical practice in Indonesia by translating the questionnaire into Bahasa and analyzing its validity and reliability. METHODS: The ISQ was translated both forward and backward by a professional translator fluent in both English and Bahasa. In this study, a cross-sectional study design was used, and Pearson's correlation test and Cronbach's Alpha calculation were used to perform the validity and reliability test. The questionnaire is valid if the computed R-value exceeds the R table value. Furthermore, it will also be considered reliable if Cronbach's Alpha value is greater than 0.60. RESULT: The computed R-value for each item is greater than the R table value (0.361), implying that all items in the questionnaire are valid. The Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.706 demonstrates that the questionnaire is reliable. CONCLUSION: The ISQ is a reliable and valid questionnaire, which can be used in Bahasa to assess patients' perspectives about their immune status.