Key clinical point: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) performed before vs after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) showed a higher axillary lymph node dissection rate and no overall survival (OS) benefits in patients with clinically lymph node-negative (cN0) breast cancer (BC).
Major finding: The axillary lymph node dissection rate was significantly higher for SLNB performed before vs after NACT (29.9% vs 7.4%; P < .001; odds ratio 5.35; P = .002). Moreover, the 4-year overall survival rate was significantly compromised when SLNB was performed before vs after NACT (88.4% vs 95.7%; hazard ratio 0.21; P = .009).
Study details: This retrospective observational study included 310 patients with cN0 BC, of whom 107 and 203 patients underwent SLNB before and after NACT, respectively.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding except Open Access funding from Springer Nature. The authors declared no financial conflicts of interest. Two authors declared non-financial ties with various sources.
Source: Fernandez-Gonzalez S, Falo C, Pla MJ, et al. Sentinel lymph node biopsy before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cN0 breast cancer patients: Impact on axillary morbidity and survival—A propensity score cohort study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2024 (Apr 18). doi: 10.1007/s10549-024-07274-1 Source