Effect of breast-conserving surgery combined with sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary preservation on the recurrence, metastasis, complications and cosmetic results of early breast cancer patients

• Published in: Gland surgery Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 1019 - 1025
• Main Authors: Xiang, Jing, Huang, Shiqin, Tuo, Youlin, Wang, Yun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China (Republic : 1949- ) AME Publishing Company 01.08.2020
• Subjects: Original; early breast cancer; complications; Breast-conserving surgery (BCS); recurrence and metastasis; sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary preservation
• ISSN: 2227-684X; 2227-8575
• DOI: 10.21037/gs-20-584

As one of the main malignant tumors, breast cancer remains a worldwide public health issue. Here, we aimed to analyze the effects of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) combined with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and axillary preservation on the recurrence, metastasis, complications, and cosmetic results of early breast cancer patients (BCPs). The clinical data of 143 BCPs admitted to our hospital from January 2017 to January 2019 were collected retrospectively, and all patients were female. Patients (76 cases) undergoing BCS combined with SLNB and axillary preservation treatment were set as the combined group, and 67 cases undergoing traditional modified radical surgery were set as the control group. After the perioperative conditions of patients in the two groups were compared, the patients were followed up for 14 months to record information on the quality of life, recurrence, metastasis, complications, and cosmetic results. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and extubation time of the combined group were significantly less than the control group (P<0.05); the quality of life of patients in both groups improved after treatment, but the quality of life of patients in the combined group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05); both groups of patients were followed up for 14 months after treatment, and there were no deaths. The rates of local recurrence and distant metastasis were 2.98% and 5.97% in the control group and 5.26% and 6.57% in the combined group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05); the incidence of postoperative complications was 14.92% in the control group, which was significantly higher than the incidence of 3.94% of the combined group (P<0.05); the proportion of postoperative cosmetic results with an excellent and good rating was 59.7% in the control group, which was significantly lower than the 93.42% reported in the combined group (P<0.05). BCS combined with SLNB and axillary preservation provided good clinical and cosmetic results and can improve the quality of life of patients and reduce the rate of recurrence and metastasis.