Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for XXXX : Is There a Correlation of Preoperative Lymphatic Mapping With Sentinel Lymph Nodes Harvested?

@entity1 @entity1600 @entity320
BACKGROUND: Nodal status is the most significant prognostic factor in @entity320 . No study has examined the relationship between lymphoscintigraphy, y probe counts, harvested nodes, and nodal status. METHODS: Two-hundred sixty two @entity1 were identified who underwent @entity1600 biopsy for @entity320 between 2001 and 2010. Clinicopathologic and treatment information was collected. The number of lymph nodes and basins demonstrated on lymphoscintigraphy was compared to those at surgery. y Probe counts were compared. RESULTS: Median age was 54.5 years (range, 18-90 years) with 52.3% male. Average Breslow depth was 2.0 (1.9) mm; 99.6% of lymphoscintigraphy studies identified at least 1 basin, 80% showed only 1 (range, 0-4). Lymphoscintigraphy identified on average 1.5 (0.9) sentinel nodes and 31% with secondary node. Surgery excised on average 2.6 (1.4) nodes involving 1.2 (0.5) basins; 17.6% had a positive @entity1600 . There was no difference in the sum or average of y counts between positive and negative @entity1600 groups (P = 0.2, P = 0.5). When comparing lymphoscintigraphy and surgical excision, the correlation of lymphatic basins was r = 0.67 and of lymph node numbers was r = 0.33. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphoscintigraphy should be used to identify the proper lymphatic basins for a sentinel node procedure, however, the removal of nodes must continue until the background count is less than 10%. The correlation of lymph node number identified on lymphoscintigraphy to surgical excision is weak. y Probe counts cannot be used to differentiate positive from negative nodes and the positive lymph node is not always the hottest node.
