ObjectiveTo summarize the current status and advances of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) technique in breast cancer. MethodsThe pertinent domestic and overseas literatures were reviewed and the localization, harvest, status assessment, indications, and complications of SLNB were analyzed. ResultsSLNB could accurately locate and pick out sentinel lymph node (SLN) in breast cancer. The development on imaging examination and pathological techniques promoted the assessment of SLN, and the indications of SLNB were expanding. The complication rate of SLNB was low and the technique could accurately predict axillary lymph node staging and direct selective axillary lymph node dissection. ConclusionsSLNB has been an important method of surgical therapy in breast cancer, but the operation process needs to be further standardized to decrease the false negative rate. Continuative attentions shall be paid to the problems such as the false positive and controversial indications.
Abstract： Objective To evaluate the clinical safety and neurological outcomes of right axillary artery cannulation with a side graft compared with a direct approachin aortic arch replacement for patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection. Methods Between July 2008 and July 2010， 280 consecutive patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection underwent right axillary artery cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass （CPB） in total arch replacement and stented “elephant trunk” implantation in our hospital.These 280 patients were divided into two groups according to the method of axillary artery cannulation in operation:direct arterial cannulation was used in 215 patients（direct arterial cannulationgroup， DG group， mean age of 43.1±9.5 years）， while cannulation with a side graft was used in 65 patients（ indirect cannulation group， IG group， mean age of 44.7±8.3 years）. Clinical characteristics of both groups were similar except their axillary artery cannulation method. Patient outcomes were compared as to the prevalence of clinical complications， especially neurological deficits and postoperative morbidity. Results The overall hospital mortality was 3.6% （10/280）， 3.3% （7/215） in DG group and 4.6% （3/65） in IG group respectively.Right axillary artery cannulation was successfully performed in all cases without any occurrence of malperfusion. Postoperatively， 25 patients（8.9%）developed temporaryneurological deficits， 19 cases in DG group（8.8%）， and 6 cases in IG group （9.2%）， and all these patients were cured after treatment. The incidence of postoperative complications directly related to axillary artery cannulation was significantly lower in IG group than that in DG group（1 case vs. 19 cases， P=0.045）. There were no statistical differences in arterial perfusion peak flow， peak pressure，antegrade cerebral perfusion time， deep hypothermic circulatory arrest time， and CPB time between the two groups（P ＞ 0.05）. Conclusion Right axillary artery cannulation with a side graftcan significantly reduce the postoperative complications of axillary artery cannulation. It is a safe and effective method for patients undergoing surgery for acute Stanford type A aortic dissection.
Objective To investigate a suitable way to reconstruct scar constractures in the axilla and chest.Methods From January 2001 to December 2005, 52 patients(57 episodes) with scar constractures in the axilla and chest were treated, including 31 males and 21 females with an age range of 1-44 years.The deformities of scar constractures in the axilla and chest were reconstructed with posterior part of axillary scar skin flaps(44 epidsodes), anterior part of axillary scar skinflaps(10 episodes) and lateral part of upper arm’s scar skin flaps(3 episodes).The flaps were sutured to the surrounding tissues in 19 episodes, the donor sites in other38cases were covered with split thickness skin grafts. Results Fifty-four scar skin flaps survived completely by the first intention except 3flaps, which margin necrosed and healed with dressing changes. All patients were followed up 1 month to 5 years. All patients gained a good functional recovery and cosmetic appearance after the operation, and the unfolding function ofshoulder restored to 150°. Conclusion Axillary local scar skin flap is a good alternative method to reconstruct scar constractures in the axilla and chest.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the compression feature, clinical manifestation and the results of treatment of quadrilateral space syndrome. METHODS: Four patients with axillary nerve entrapment at quadrilateral space had been treated and followed up for 5 to 12 months from May 1999 to June 2000. The causes, symptoms, signs and the treatment management of those cases were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 3 cases which received operation, sensation and motor function completely recovered in 2 cases and partially recovered in 1 case. No obvious recovery of sensation and motor function in the case which received local nerve blocking treatment. CONCLUSION: The main diagnostic evidence for axillary nerve entrapment is the deltoid muscle paralysis and paresthesia in the lateral side of shoulder, and early neurolysis is recommended as soon as the diagnosis is clarified.
ObjectiveTo explore the feasibility and the practical value of conserving upper limb lymph nodes in axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for early breast cancer. MethodsFrom August 2007 to January 2010, 124 patients with early breast cancer were studied and divided into two phases: phase one, from August 2007 to July 2008; phase two, from August 2008 to January 2010. Five milliliter of methylene blue was injected subcutaneously in ipsilateral forearm in all the patients before operation to locate the upper limb lymph nodes. Routine ALND was performed in 22 patients of phase one. The level Ⅱ lymph nodes and the upper limb lymph nodes were separated from the axillary lymph nodes, respectively. The lymph nodes of level Ⅱ were investigated by combining touch cytology with frozen section during operation. The lymph nodes of level Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and the upper limb lymph nodes were investigated postoperatively by routine pathological examination to evaluate the feasibility of conserving the upper limb lymph nodes. One hundred and two patients in phase two were divided randomly by lottery into control group (30 cases), and conserving group (72 cases) in which upper limb lymph nodes were selectively conserved. The surgical procedure for control group was same as the phase one blue stained upper limb lymph nodes, in the conserving group were conserved selectively when the lymph nodes metastasis of level Ⅱ were not detected by combining touch cytology with frozen section during operation. The data were collected and analysed on pathological results of all patients and arm circumference was compared between control group and conserving group. Results Total 119 of 124 patients (96.0%) were found with blue stained upper limb lymph nodes. The concordance rate was 99.2% (123/124) between the intraoperative combining pathological method and the postoperative routine pathological examination. No upper limb lymph node metastasis was found in the phase one and the control group of phase two with level Ⅱ group negative. The incidence of arm lymphedema in the control group and the conserving group with level Ⅰ and Ⅱ lymph nodes dissection was 18.2% （4/22） and 20% （1/51）, respectively on 6 months after operation. The difference was statistically significant （χ 2=6,34， Plt;0.05）. ConclusionsMethylene blue being injected subcutaneously in ipsilateral upper limb can be used to show validly lymph nodes of upper limb in the axillary region. ALND with selectively conserving upper limb lymph nodes when level Ⅱ lymph nodes negative in metastasis, can prevent postoperative arm lymphedema.
【Abstract】Objective To compare the sensitivity of HE,immunohistochemistry (IHC) and RT-PCR in detection of breast cancer metastases in axillary lymph nodes.MethodsTwenty female patients with newly diagnosed and clinically nodenegative breast cancers underwent modified radical mastectomy, including a complete axillary lymph node dissection. The ages of the patients ranged from 31 years to 65 years, and the diagnosis of breast cancer was approved by pathological finding. Two hundred and thirty-nine axillary lymph nodes were found in these 20 patients. Metastases in axillary lymph nodes were explored by HE， cytokeratin 19 IHC and RT-PCR for cytokeratin 19 respectively. ResultsSeven(2.9%) lymph nodes were found to have metastatic cancers by HE in 3 patients,all nodes were found in level Ⅰ. Metastatic cancers were found in 13(5.4%) nodes by IHC in 7 patients,11 nodes in level Ⅰ and 2 nodes in level Ⅱ; and 52(21.8%) nodes were found to contain tumor cells by RT-PCR in 14 patients,30 nodes in level Ⅰ and 22 nodes in level Ⅱ. All of 7 histologically(HE) positive nodes were found to contain tumor cells by IHC and RT-PCR. Among 232 histologically(HE) negative nodes,6(2.6%) nodes were found to contain tumor cells by IHC,and 45(19.4%) nodes were found to contain tumor cells by RT-PCR, all 6 IHC positive nodes showed the expected 460-base pair products on gel electrophoresis (P＜0.05).ConclusionThis study suggests that IHC and RT-PCR are more sensitive methods for the detection of micrometastases of breast cancer in lymph nodes than HE is,and RT-PCR is even better than IHC; the micrometastases of breast cancer in axillary lymph nodes could be detected accurately through these techniques.
Objective To summarize the advantages and complications of implantation of venous access port via axillary vein in the operation of breast cancer, and to explore the countermeasures against the complications. Methods A total of 40 female patients with breast cancer were enrolled in this observational study between January 2011 and September 2014. They were aged from 32 to 62 years with a mean of 49.3 years. The time for implantation, catheter life, reasons for port removal and complications were evaluated. Results The average time for implantation was 23.3 minutes. The catheter life ranged from 142 to 917 days with a mean of 395 days. Four patients (10%) had port-related complications including 2 cases of pocket infection and 2 of catheter dysfunction. Thirty-one ports were removed for termination of chemotherapy, and four were removed for complications. Conclusions It is simple and time-saving to implant venous access port via axillary vein in the operation of breast cancer. The incidence of pocket infection is high, and is expected to be reduced by choosing appropriate cases and taking strict aseptic norms.
ObjectiveTo summarize the current situation and progress of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in breast cancer. MethodsDomestic and foreign documents related SLNB in breast cancer in recent years were collected to summaize some problems about the definition, indications, biopsy techniques, improvement methods of the detection rate, the pathological examinations of sentinel lymph node (SLN), the types of metastasis, clinical applications of SLNB technology in breast cancer, and so on. ResultsThe indications of SLNB were expanding. The development of the tracer, imaging examination, and pathological detection technology contributed to the status assessment of SLN in breast cancer. The operation method of SLNB in breast cancer had no uniform standards yet. There were many arguments on whether SLNB can guide axillary lymph node dissection, and the detection rate and the false negative rate of it varied widely. ConclusionsSLNB technology has became an important method in the surgical therapy of breast cancer, but the operation still needs to be further standardized. The clinical application of SLNB also needs a lot of prospective multicenter randomized experiments for further demonstration.
ObjectiveTo discuss the strategy of locoregional surgery for breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. MethodThe pertinent literatures about locoregional surgery concerning breast-conserving therapy, factors of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence, pathological shrinkage modes of breast primary tumor, and sentinel lymph node biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were reviewed. Results①The major benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was to increase the proportion of breast-conserving therapy after downstaging the primary breast tumor. However, the use of breast-conserving therapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy might remain a higher risk of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence. It was now widely recognized that the risk factors for ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence were multifocal pattern of residual tumor and pathologic residual tumor larger than 2 cm. The shrinkage mode of the primary breast tumor after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and its relative factors were still unclear. 2 Sentinel lymph node biopsy(SLNB) was feasible either before or after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and approval by SLNB guideline and expert consensus. Patients with a cN0 status could get more benefits from SLNB after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Although there was a bright future for SLNB as an alternative to ALND for patients with primary cN1 and downstaging to cN0 after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, it needed to obtain the accepted clinical identification rate, false negative rate, as well as similar regional recurrence rate and overall survival as compared to ALND. ConclusionsCurrently, surgical management is crucial for reducing the locoregional recurrence risk of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, no matter what the clinical and radiographic efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is. In the era of genomics and SLNB, individual locoregional surgical management could be arrived according to the primary stage and neoadjuvant chemotherapy response.
ObjectiveTo explore influence of molecular classification of breast cancer on surgical treatment of axillary lymph nodes. MethodThe related literatures which discussed the relation between molecular classification and axillary lymph node metastasis were reviewed and analyzed. ResultsThe triple negative breast cancer had a lower rate of sentinel lymph node or non-sentinel lymph node metastasis. The axillary lymph node metastasis rate was higher in the luminal B or HER-2 overexpression subtypes. Especially, luminal B subtype had a higher risk of sentinel lymph node or non-sentinel lymph node metastasis as compared with the other subtypes. Elderly patients with breast conserving operation could be free for axillary lymph node dissection when only 1-2 sentinel lymph node metastases. There was still a positive possibility of non-sentinel lymph node for younger patients with a larger tumor size, even if the sentinel lymph node negative, the lymph node dissection may benefit these patients. ConclusionBreast cancer molecular classification should be considered for the surgery selection of axillary lymph node dissection.