Selective sentinel lymph node biopsy in male breast cancer

• Published in: Revista Española de medicina nuclear e imagen molecular (English ed.) Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 146 - 150
• Main Authors: Martin-Marcuartu, J J, Alvarez-Perez, R M, Sousa Vaquero, J M, Jimenez-Hoyuela García, J M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.05.2018
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Axilla; Breast Neoplasms, Male - pathology; DNA, Neoplasm - analysis; Humans; Lymph Node Excision; Lymphatic Metastasis - diagnostic imaging; Lymphography - methods; Male; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; Radiopharmaceuticals; Reproducibility of Results; Retrospective Studies; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy - methods; Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography Computed Tomography; Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin; Unnecessary Procedures; Axillary lymphadenectomy; Linfedema; Lymphedema; Cáncer de mama; Linfadenectomía axilar; Sentinel lymph node biopsy; Biopsia del ganglio centinela; Male; Breast cancer; Varón
• ISSN: 2253-8070; 2253-8089
• DOI: 10.1016/j.remn.2017.09.004

To evaluate the reproducibility of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) technique in male breast cancer. We retrospectively analysed 21 male patients diagnosed with breast cancer in our hospital from 2008 to 2016 with, at least, 18 months follow-up. Fifteen patients underwent selective sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) following the usual protocols with peritumoral injection of 18.5-111MBq of Tc-nanocoloides and acquisition of planar images 2hours after the injection. In 2 cases it was necessary to perform a SPECT/CT to locate the SLN. Immunohistochemistry and molecular techniques (OSNA) were used for their analysis. Six patients did not undergo SLNB because they had pathological nodes or distant disease at the time of diagnosis. SLNB was performed in 15 patients. The SLN was negative in 6 patients and positive in the remaining 9. Three patients with positive SLNB did not need axillary lymphadenectomy because of the low number of copies by molecular analysis OSNA. Axillary lymphadenectomy was performed in the remaining 6 patients with the result of 4 positive axillary lymphadenectomies and 2 that did not show further extension of the disease. According to our experience, SLNB in males is a reproducible, useful, safe and reliable technique which avoids unnecessary axillary lymphadenectomy and prevents the appearance of undesirable effects.