Is axillary reverse mapping in patients with breast cancer oncologically safe? / 中华普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the oncological safety of axillary reverse mapping in patients with breast cancer.Methods Patients with sentinel lymph node biopsy(SLNB) or axillary lymphnode dissection (ALND) between Oct 2015 and Feb 2016 were enrolled in this study prospectively.Axillary reverse mapping (ARM) procedure was done using a radioisotope before the surgery.All the ARM nodes were identified and sent separately for histologic analysis.Results 78 patients underwent 78 axillary operations.Of 53 patients with SLNB,33 (62.3％)had ARM nodes identified.22 (41.5％)had the crossover of the ARM nodes with the SLNs,and one (4.5％) had positive ARM node.Of 36 patients with ALND,33 (91.7％) had ARM nodes identified.9(25％)had positive ARM nodes.Positive ARM node status was significantly associated with advanced axillary disease(P =0.036).Conclusion Preserving ARM nodes in SLNB is oncologically safe to reduce upper extremity lymphedema.